What Has Happened So Far in the 2024 Australian Open?
by Steve Ashfield | by Véronique MASUAKU
Murray's Last Australian Open?
It's been said by him before but this year's Australian Open might just be the last for Andy Murray. He previously announced that to be so when battling a serious hip injury. Surgery rescued his career but now he's at the stage where the wins aren't coming and this may well be his last as a professional tennis player.
The first round of this Grand Slam saw him lose in straight sets to Tomas Martin Etcheverry. It was a poor performance and he is still without a competitive win this year.
Although still at 47th in the live rankings, Murray has seen his form dip in recent months. Seven of his last eight matches in ATP Tour events have ended in defeat. It's not the fact that the British player is now 36 years-old that is the problem. When former Grand Slam winners find it hard to get good results anymore, it's hard to cope with that situation.
Murray hasn't made it past the third round of a Grand Slam since reaching the last eight at Wimbledon in 2017. He's always likely to draw a seed in the early rounds of a tournament and he just doesn't want to be a player who's not in contention to win an ATP Tour tournament. Perhaps a retirement after one final appearance at Wimbledon would be a fitting exit for a great champion? Remember you can access our Australian Open betting tips page to get experts' information.
Big Win for Garcia
Seeded 16th, Caroline Garcia had a difficult first round draw in the 2024 Australian Open. Facing an unseeded player was guaranteed, perhaps even a qualifier or a lucky loser. For Garcia, though. she was drawn to play former champion Naomi Osaka in her opening match.
Garcia began this Australian Open ranked 19th in the world but that's well below her position this time last year. At last year's tournament, the French player was the world number four. Her record in Grand Slam events isn't the best around. Since making her debut in 2010, Garcia has only reached at least the last eight on two occasions.
One was at Roland Garros seven years ago, the other a 2022 US Open semi-final. Twice she has made it to the fourth round of this tournament but a player who has been ranked so high should have a better record than she currently possesses.
2024 began with her winning three of her four matches in the United Cup, all going to a final set. Only the second round was reached in Adelaide where Garcia lost to Jelena Ostapenko. A match against Naomi Osaka was definitely one that needed her to find good form or head for an early exit.
Garcia played well and won the match in straight sets. That's set up a second round match against unseeded Magdalena Frech. Her good form has to continue though as the last 16 could well see her facing current US Open champion Coco Gauff. Checkout our Australian Open livescore section to keep up to date with what's happening in the Australian Open.
Monfils Climbing Back Up the Rankings
At the age of 37 (one year older than Andy Murray), Gael Monflls is still a difficult player to beat on the ATP Tour. The Frenchman has been playing Grand Slam events since 2004.when Carlos Alcaraz was aged just one year old. Despite all his years on tour, Monfils has never reached a Grand Slam final. His best performances have been semi-final appearances at Roland Garros in 2008 and the US Open eight years ago.
At one stage last year, Monfils was ranked as low as 394th. He'd been injured at the 2022 US Open and didn't return to the tour until the Indian Wells tournament at the start of March. He lost in the first round there to Jordan Thompson and only won four games.
Just like Andy Murray, he faced a long hard road back up the rankings. Only one of his next seven matches was won and that was due to his opponent retiring hurt in the second set. He made the second round at Roland Garros but then withdrew from his second round match against Holger Rune.
As the tour moved to North America, Monfils finally found his form. He beat Stefanos Tsitsipas in Toronto where he reached the quarter finals. More good wins came against Cameron Norrie, Alex de Minaur and then he won the Stockholm Open in October.
2024 now sees him participating in the Australian Open again looking to roll back the years. He did just that in round one when beating Yannick Hanfmann in straight sets. He takes on Tomas Martin Etcheverry in round two and could even meet Novak Djokovic if winning that. It'll be tough but we've learnt never to write off this veteran. Go to our Australian Open odds comparator to help with your betting plans.
