Australian Open 2022 Qualifiers – Yuki Bhambri arrives in Melbourne: The Qualifying rounds of year 2022’s 1st Grand Slam tennis event will start on 10th January. Ace Indian tennis player Yuki Bhambri has already reached Melbourne with dream to qualify for the event. Bhambri along with Ramkumar Ramanathan and Pranjesh Gunneswaran will be in action starting 10th January – Follow Australian Open LIVE Updates on InsideSport.IN
Also Read:Australian Open 2022: Emma Raducanu withdraws from Melbourne Summer Set; cites quarantine fatigue
The 29-year-old Bhambri will play his first grand slam since 2018. He returned to the competition in late February, playing two ATP Tour events. Bhambri missed out on the action in the years 2019 and 2020 due to tendonitis in both knees.
Australian Open 2022: Yuki Bhambri arrives in Melbourne ahead of Australian Open
In April he was tested positive for COVID-19 before playing a Challenger event in Orlando, Florida. After recovering from COVID-19, Bhambri was again down with a right knee injury. Bhambri’s singles ranking had dropped to 1035 but returned with his injury protected ranking of No. 100 in February 2021.
Australian Open men’s qualies entry list pic.twitter.com/14zTFS0fkp
— Michal Samulski (@MichalSamulski) December 15, 2021
The Youth Olympic Games silver medallist was world No. 100 when he played his last ATP tournament in Antwerp in October 2018 and as a player, he is eligible to keep the injury protected ranking for 12 tournaments, and the Indian played two events in February and March. Bhambri has to complete his quota of 12 tournaments by August 2022 with the protected ranking.
Yuki has spent most part of the last three years nursing both knees injury, undergoing multiple operations and spending months in rehabilitation, hoping to get back to tennis.
The 2009 Australian Open Boy’s singles champion Yuki Bhambri will aim to win his first men’s singles match in grand slams as he returns to competition at the Australian Open 2022 (qualifying) in Melbourne.
Australian Open 2022 Main Draw starts from 17th January
Ash Barty and Novak Djokovic headline stellar player fields set to compete at Melbourne Park for Australian Open 2022, the first Grand Slam event of the season.
World No.1 Barty, who will attempt to become the first local player to win an Australian Open singles title in 44 years, leads a women’s field featuring all of the world’s top 40.
Defending champion Djokovic will play for an incredible 10th Australian Open trophy — and a men’s record 21st major singles title — and will be the favourite in a draw which showcases 49 of the world’s top 50 including world No.2 Daniil Medvedev, who beat top-ranked Djokovic in this year’s US Open final.
Defending champion Naomi Osaka is expected to return to action and will target a fifth career major singles title; and reigning US Open champion Emma Raducanu will make her Australian Open debut, with the British teenager up to a career-high ranking of No.19.
Rafael Nadal, tied with Djokovic at 20 career major singles titles, will compete for the first time since August, while AO 2020 finalist Dominic Thiem will make his comeback after a six-month break to heal a wrist injury.
A notable absentee on the men’s side is 16th-ranked Roger Federer, who continues his rehabilitation following knee surgery. Fellow Swiss Stan Wawrinka, the AO 2014 winner, will also miss the event as he too recovers from surgery.
World No.41 Serena Williams will not contest the women’s draw, with the seven-time AO champion withdrawing following advice from her medical team.
“While this is never an easy decision to make, I am not where I need to be physically to compete,” Williams said.
“Melbourne is one of my favorite cities to visit and I look forward to playing at the AO every year. I will miss seeing the fans, but am excited to return and compete at my highest level.”
Also withdrawing is 2019 US Open champion Bianca Andreescu. The young Canadian star is taking a break from the tour, before targeting a comeback later in 2022.
Editors pick
