Sumit Nagal’s qualification for the Australian Open main draw on Friday made Sania Mirza happy, ahead of the first grand slam of the season, which will get underway on Sunday.
“It is amazing he is in the main draw (he plays his first match on Monday). I hope he wins a round or two and we must celebrate that,” Sania, who is part of Sony Sports Network’s expert panel for Sports Extraaa, said during a virtual interaction on Friday. “For the past year or so, Nagal has been vocal about his lack of funds and I hope a grand slam appearance will solve that to some extent.”
Apart from the obvious rivalry between the top two players of the world, Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz, what else was she looking forward to in the men’s draw? “We tend to forget (Daniil) Medvedev. He has a silent presence, almost under the radar, but you can never count him out,” the six-time grand slam (doubles & mixed) winner, who retired last year, said.
The fact that among the top-10 seeds, only Djokovic, Alcaraz and Medvedev have won grand slams should make “Djokovic very happy” at Melbourne Park, she said. “In Australia it is really difficult to see beyond Djokovic, looking for his 11th title.”
While the uncertain nature of the women’s game makes it difficult to pick a clear favourite, Sania said one among Iga Swiatek, Aryna Sabalenka and Elena Rybakina should lift the title.
The Australian Open will be broadcast live on Sony Sports Network from Sunday