The 18-year-old Coco Gauff had a stellar week in Adelaide, winning the tournament and easily beating Rebeka Masarova 6-1, 6-1 in the final.
When she gets going, Gauff can be forceful and reactive. She can move forward when she is feeling good. Last week, she rarely went backwards. She has yet to win a huge tournament, but she has now won three small events in Linz, Parma and now the 2023 Auckland.
Next week, she will still be ranked No. 7. When she arrives at the Australian Open, she will be thinking that she can take a huge shot of winning a Slam. She is not quite there yet. If she keeps her focus in the first week, then should could power through to a title. However, at the AO last year, she lost to Carolina Garcia, the current No. 4. If they match up again, then Gauff is going to have to play almost 100 percent to win it, as the Frenchwoman can be spectacular.
Speaking of another American, Sebastian Korda was so close of beating Novak Djokovic, but he came short, losing when the Serb 6-7(8), 7-6(3), 6-4. That was a marathon, yet Djokovic kept changing, hitting his astounding backhand, solid volleys and big spin in his forehand.
Korda played a wonderful week, not because he lost, but he was very patient and mixed it up a lot. He also knew that to win the match, he had to try seriously hard, and many times over the past few years, he would slide into mediocracy. He was so-so last summer, but in the fall, he began to rise. For the first time, at the Australian Open, he will be seeded.
Djokovic is clearly on fire again. He has now won 92 career titles, which is a huge amount. He has won the Australian Open eight times, and in Melbourne, he is favored again. But he is not a huge favorite, just by a slight edge, Last year he arrive in but then was asked to leave Australia because he hadn’t taken the COVID-19 vaccine. When he is on the court, in a match, there will some fans who will boo him. That is a fact.
American men and the women won the United Cup with Jessica Pegula, Frances Tiafoe, Taylor Fritz and Madison Keys. Clearly, they played very consistently and made sure they dominated. All of them were having a great time.
None of them have reached the final at the AO, and of course, they really like the hardcourts. So they have a realistic shot to beat down the excellent players. Pegula has never gone deep at the Slams. Tiafoe reached the US Open semis when he played terrific last year, but, in the fifth set against Carlos Alcaraz, the Spaniard rose way high. Tiafoe will have another chance to prove himself. He actually lost to his friend Fritz and the San Diego resident won 2022 Indian Wells, the best he had ever played. He has yet to win a Slam, a big test.
Keys has put in a few wild and fun matches at Melbourne, and she went into the semis twice. She can mash the ball, but when she cannot run that fast, then she can lose when she is mentally down. Keys looked very good until the semis, and then the former No.1 Ashel Barty crushed her.
Aryna Sabalenka just won an event, beating newcomer Linda Noskova. The former No. 2 Sabalenka can rock and roll, but she can throw in a lot of double faults. If she can hit a lot of first serves then sure, she has a chance to win it all.
There has to be at least 10 women who can grab the Aussie title, given that Barty retired.