MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) - Men to watch at the Australian Open, where play begins Monday:
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RAFAEL NADAL
Seeded: 1
Country: Spain
Age: 33
2019 Match Record: 58-7
2019 Singles Titles: 4
Career Singles Titles: 84
Grand Slam Singles Titles: 19 - 1 at Australian Open (2009), 12 at French Open (2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2017, 2018, 2019), 2 at Wimbledon (2008, 2010), 4 at U.S. Open (2010, 2013, 2017, 2019)
Last 5 Australian Opens: 2019-Runner-up, 2018-Lost in QF, 2017-RU, 2016-1st, 2015-QF
Australian Open Career Record: 61-13
Aces: Oldest man to finish a year ranked No. 1. … Can become only the third man in tennis history with at least two titles at each Grand Slam tournament (Rod Laver, Roy Emerson).
Topspin: No reason to believe he couldn’t win in Australia to equal Roger Federer’s record of 20 Grand Slam singles titles.
Matchup to Watch For: Nick Kyrgios in the 4th Round
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NOVAK DJOKOVIC
Seeded: 2
Country: Serbia
Age: 32
2019 Match Record: 57-11
2019 Singles Titles: 5
Career Singles Titles: 77
Grand Slam Singles Titles: 16 - 7 at Australian Open (2008, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2015, 2016, 2019), 1 at French Open (2016), 5 at Wimbledon (2011, 2014, 2015, 2018, 2019), 3 at U.S. Open (2011, 2015, 2018)
Last 5 Australian Opens: 2019-Won Championship, 2018-4th, 2017-2nd, 2016-W, 2015-W
Australian Open Career Record: 68-8
Aces: First-round win would make him 6th man in Open era with 900 career victories (he is 899-187, a winning percentage of .828 ). … Has won two majors in four of the past five seasons.
Topspin: His flawless final against Nadal a year ago — and his seven titles in all at Melbourne Park — mean he has to be considered the favorite.
Matchup to Watch For: Jan Lennard-Struff in the 1st Round
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ROGER FEDERER
Seeded: 3
Country: Switzerland
Age: 38
2019 Match Record: 53-10
2019 Singles Titles: 4
Career Singles Titles: 103
Grand Slam Singles Titles: 20 - 6 at Australian Open (2004, 2006, 2007, 2010, 2017, 2018), 1 at French Open (2009), 8 at Wimbledon (2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012, 2017), 5 at U.S. Open (2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008)
Last 5 Australian Opens: 2019-4th, 2018-W, 2017-W, 2016-SF, 2015-3rd
Australian Open Career Record: 97-14
Aces: 21st Australian Open appearance breaks Lleyton Hewitt’s record for most by a man. … Also holds record for most tournament match wins.
Topspin: Acknowledged in recent interview with AP that he figures both Nadal and Djokovic will overtake his Grand Slam title mark.
Matchup to Watch For: Denis Shapovalov or Grigor Dimitrov in the 4th Round
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DANIIL MEDVEDEV
Seeded: 4
Country: Russia
Age: 23
2019 Match Record: 59-21
2019 Singles Titles: 4
Career Singles Titles: 7
Grand Slam Singles Titles: 0 - Best: RU, U.S. Open (2019)
Last 5 Australian Opens: 2019-4th, 2018-2nd, 2017-1st, 2016-Did Not Play, 2015-DNP
Australian Open Career Record: 4-3
Aces: Fifth consecutive major tournament in which his seeding has risen. … Led the ATP in match wins and with nine finals reached last season.
Topspin: Has been superb on hard courts lately and appears to be on the verge of a major title.
Matchup to Watch For: Frances Tiafoe in the 1st Round
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DOMINIC THIEM
Seeded: 5
Country: Austria
Age: 26
2019 Match Record: 49-19
2019 Singles Titles: 5
Career Singles Titles: 16
Grand Slam Singles Titles: 0 - Best: RU, French Open (2018, 2019)
Last 5 Australian Opens: 2019-2nd, 2018-4th, 2017-4th, 2016-3rd, 2015-1st
Australian Open Career Record: 10-6
Aces: Only three career titles have come on hard courts; 10 on clay. … Never reached a quarterfinal at Australian Open or Wimbledon.
Topspin: Might be time for him to assert himself on hard courts with a deep run at Melbourne Park.
Matchup to Watch For: Felix Auger-Aliassime in the 4th Round
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STEFANOS TSISIPAS
Seeded: 6
Country: Greece
Age: 21
2019 Match Record: 54-25
2019 Singles Titles: 3
Career Singles Titles: 4
Grand Slam Singles Titles: 0 - Best: SF, Australian Open (2019)
Last 5 Australian Opens: 2019-SF, 2018-1st, 2017-DNP, 2016-DNP, 2015-DNP
Australian Open Career Record: 5-2
Aces: Best run at a major came a year ago in Australia, where he beat Federer in the 4th Round en route to a semifinal loss to Nadal.
Topspin: If he can stay focused and channel all of his tremendous talent, could become the youngest Australian Open men’s champ since Djokovic was 20 in 2008.
Matchup to Watch For: Milos Raonic in the 3rd Round
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MATTEO BERRETTINI
Seeded: 8
Country: Italy
Age: 23
2019 Match Record: 43-25
2019 Singles Titles: 2
Career Singles Titles: 3
Grand Slam Singles Titles: 0 - Best: SF, U.S. Open (2019)
Last 5 Australian Opens: 2019-1st, 2018-1st, 2017-DNP, 2016-DNP, 2015-DNP
Australian Open Career Record: 0-2
Aces: Made quite a career progression at the majors in 2019, going from a first-round exit in Australia, to second round at French Open, fourth round at Wimbledon, semifinal at U.S. Open.
Topspin: With his booming forehand, would be surprising if he doesn’t at least pick up his first main-draw singles win at Melbourne Park — if not much more.
Matchup to Watch For: Borna Coric or Sam Querrey in the 3rd Round
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NICK KYRGIOS
Seeded: 23
Country: Australia
Age: 24
2019 Match Record: 23-15
2019 Singles Titles: 2
Career Singles Titles: 6
Grand Slam Singles Titles: 0 - Best: QF, Australian Open (’15), Wimbledon (’14)
Last 5 Australian Opens: 2019-1st, 2018-4th, 2017-2nd, 2016-3rd, 2015-QF
Australian Open Career Record: 11-6
Aces: No Australian man has won the country’s Grand Slam tournament since Mark Edmondson in 1976. … Hasn’t reached a major quarterfinal in five years.
Topspin: There’s always something going on with Kyrgios - he is currently on ATP probation - but he’s as talented and charismatic a player as there is in the sport.
Matchup to Watch For: Karen Khachanov in the 3rd Round
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