Rafael Nadal proved that the old guard in men’s tennis was not done just yet when he won the 2022 Australian Open. The Spaniard landed his 21st Grand Slam in Melbourne, becoming the first male player in history to get to that number.
Although Nadal, Novak Djokovic, and Roger Federer remain a big force in the game, we have seen over the last 12 months that there are now other players who are close to a big success themselves. Here are three men who could win a maiden Grand Slam this year in the sport.
Matteo Berrettini
2021 was a big year for Matteo Berrettini. He was successful in his second grass court tournament when he lifted the Queen’s Championship. The Italian then reached the final at Wimbledon, losing to Djokovic in four sets.
Berrettini has tennis betting odds of +850 to go one place better at Wimbledon in 2022. He has established himself as a very good player on the surface. His game is perfectly suited to the grass, so it may only be a matter of time before he adds his name to the roll of honor at SW19.
It is not just on grass that Berrettini is improving fast on. The five-time ATP Tour winner has made it through to the semi-final of the Australian Open and US Open on hard courts. He has a great chance of reaching the top of the ATP rankings over the next couple of years.
Stefanos Tsitsipas
Former world number three Stefanos Tsitsipas knows what it takes to win a big tournament. He was successful in the 2019 ATP Finals in London, beating Dominic Thiem in the final of that competition.
The Greek came very close to his first Grand Slam win at the 2021 French Open. He led in the final by 2-0 and looked on course to be crowned the champion in Paris. Unfortunately for the seven-time ATP winner, he was on the wrong side of one of Djokovic’s trademark comebacks.
Tsitsipas will have a lot of confidence from the way he played the clay courts at Roland-Garros. He should be one of the top four seeds in all three of the remaining Grand Slam tournaments in 2022.
Felix Auger-Aliassime
It has been an excellent start to the season for Felix Aguer-Aliassime. He won his first ATP title in the Rotterdam Open, beating Tsitsipas in the final. That’s likely to be the first of many for the talented Canadian. It also ended a stretch of eight defeats in finals of ATP tournaments.
The world number nine had his best run in a Grand Slam at the 2021 US Open. He made it through to the last four at Flushing Meadows before losing to Daniil Medvedev. The same opponent eliminated him in a close five-set encounter at the quarter-final stage of the 2022 Australian Open.
Auger-Aliassime should continue to climb the rankings. He now has the confidence to progress deep into the Grand Slams. It may not be long before he wins one of the major prizes.
The next chance for the world’s top players to win a Grand Slam title will come at the 2022 French Open, which takes place between May 22 and June 5, 2022.