Australian Open 2022: Djokovic Deported, Field Wide Open – But Nadal's Path Stays Brutal

Australian Open 2022 Kicks Off in Chaos: Djokovic Expelled Over Visa Drama, Tournament Loses King but Brims with Uncertainty

© AFP

Arthur Millot

le 22/01/2026 à 16h44

1 min to read

Berrettini Matteo Djokovic Novak Extraits - Dossiers/Enquêtes Extraits de Dossiers Medvedev Daniil Nadal Rafael Tsitsipas Stefanos Zverev Alexander

Australian Open Without Djokovic: Wide-Open Tournament, But Not Necessarily Favorable

The 2022 edition opens in an unprecedented atmosphere.

Novak Djokovic, nine-time winner in Melbourne, has been deported from the country after his visa cancellation (the Serb refused the Covid-19 vaccine).

Sportingly, his absence changes everything. The tournament loses its natural favorite, its center of gravity. But it doesn't turn Nadal into the clear frontrunner.

Because with Djokovic absent, the draw doesn't get any easier. Daniil Medvedev, world No. 2, is at the peak of his maturity (he won the US Open just months earlier).

A Generation in Top Form

Alexander Zverev, Stefanos Tsitsipas, Matteo Berrettini also represent a younger, fresher generation better suited to fast surfaces.

Nadal arrives with just one certainty: his body is an unknown quantity.

Moreover, the Australian Open has historically been his cruelest Grand Slam.

Just one victory in 2009, several lost finals (2012, 2014, 2017, 2019), often after grueling battles. Melbourne is a land of suffering, not comfort.

Yet in terms of matches won, the Australian Open is his second-best Major (behind Roland Garros), but the one where he has the least title success.

Discover the Full Investigation on Tennis Temple This Weekend

“Rafael Nadal, Melbourne 2022 or the Most Unexpected Victory of His Career”, available from January 24, 2026.