Novak Djokovic, Serena Williams are clear favourites for Australian Open: Saketh Myneni

Saketh Myneni

India tennis ace Saketh Myneni, 33, is pretty clear about his favourites for the year's first Grand Slam, the Australian Open, which kicked off in Melbourne today.

"Novak Djokovic and Serena Williams are my favourites to win the Australian Open," Myneni told mid-day recently, going on to explain the reasons for his choices.
"Serena has always been there, fighting hard. She's a great champion. She's also chasing a record of 24 Slam titles [to equal Australian great Margaret Court] and it will be great if she can achieve it in Australia. In the last three-four years, we have seen that whoever has beaten Serena has had to play some unbelievable tennis. So, for me, she's right up there. And among the men, it has to be Novak, not only because he's the current World No. 1 but because he has won the Australian Open title eight times. That definitely gives him an edge over the others," said Myneni a mixed doubles gold medal-winner at the 2014 Incheon Asian Games.

However, life on court won't be easy given the quarantine restrictions, and Myneni felt mental toughness will be the key to success in Melbourne.

"A lot of players have had issues with the quarantine. It's mentally a big challenge. It's tough to be cooped up in your hotel room, first as part of the hard quarantine [immediately after your enter the country] and then be allowed only a couple of hours in a day out for training as part of the soft quarantine norms that come into force later. Players will have to be mentally very tough to keep up their rhythm. But Tennis Australia have done a good job and one can understand the strict regulations given they have to ensure the COVID-19 pandemic does not spread its wings any further Down Under," concluded Myneni.

The Australian Open will be aired live on Sony Six, Sony Ten 2 and Sony Ten 3 (in Hindi) from February 8.