The Tour: ATP Stars Make 2023 Predictions

Novak Djokovic proved once again that he is the master of Melbourne when he won his ninth Australian Open title last month. While the Serbian said he was far from confident in his title chances at times due to his hamstring tear, several of his ATP Tour colleagues had no problem correctly picking him to reclaim the crown at the year’s first Grand Slam.

Denis Shapovalov, Jack Draper, John Isner and Thanasi Kokkinakis were among those to correctly predict Djokovic’s triumph when we sat down with some of the game’s biggest stars to get their thoughts on how the 2023 season will unfold. The expert panel also included Rafael Nadal, Daniil Medvedev and Karen Khachanov.

Djokovic was also the popular pick for the player to win the most ATP Masters 1000 titles. The Serbian is a natural choice with his record 38 trophies at that prestigious level, including two Career Golden Masters.

“Just because he’s so strong,” said Medvedev, who joined Isner, Kokkinakis and Draper in selecting the Serbian. “When he plays, he wins a lot of tournaments.”

There was also a lot of love for Jannik Sinner with three players—Nadal, Draper and Kokkinakis—tipping the Italian to win his first ATP Masters 1000 title this season. Sinner has reached one ATP Masters 1000 final, in 2021 in Miami, where he lost to Hubert Hurkacz.

“He was close, he’s young, he’s growing,” said Nadal. “He has the right potential. Why not?”