The first Grand Slam of the year, Australian Open is scheduled to start from February 8 and will go on till February 21. Usually, the Australian Open starts from Mid-January, however, this year due to the coronavirus pandemic, there has been a slight change in the schedule.
The first match of both women’s and men’s singles will be played on February 8, 2021 in Melbourne. Renowned tennis players like Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic, Naomi Osaka, and Serena Williams will be playing in the tournament. However, Swiss ace Roger Federer will be skipping the grand slam due to pandemic.
In the first match for the tournament, defending champion Djokovic will be playing against French player Jeremy Chardy. Meanwhile, women’s singles’ first match will be played between Montenegro’s Kovinić Danka and Aussie player Ash Barty.
Top seeds. First round. Let's do this 💪
🇦🇺 @ashbarty v @DankaKovinic 🇲🇪#AusOpen #AO2021 pic.twitter.com/VPK8ME2PVx— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) February 5, 2021
It will be interesting to see how Djokovic, who has won the Australian open eight times, will be performing this year. Meanwhile, World No. 2 Nadal has won the first grand slam of the year only once. In his first match this year, Nadal will be up against Laslo Djere from Serbia.
Meanwhile, in the women’s singles, last year’s champion Sofia Kenin will play her first match against Australia’s Maddison Inglis. However, the star of the women’s singles will beSerena, who will be attempting to equal Margaret Court’s all-time record of 24 majors at the grand slam. Serena has won the Australian Open seven times in the past.
AustralianOpen 2021 FullSchedule:
- February 8-9 – Men’s and women’s singles first round
- February 10-11 – Men’s and women’s singles second round
- February 12-13 – Men’s and women’s singles third round
- February 14-15 – Men’s and women’s singles fourth round
- February 16-17 – Men’s and women’s singles quarter-finals
- February 18 – Women’s semi-finals and first men’s semi-final
- February 19 – Second men’s semi-final
- February 20 – Women’s final
- February 21 – Men’s final
Where and when can you watch the Australian Open?
If you are tuning in from India, then the live broadcast of the Australian Open 2021 main draw matches will start from 5:30 am Indian Standard Time (IST) on Monday, February 8, and will go on till February 21. The matches can be watched on Sony Pictures Network (SPN) and can also be watched live on the SonyLiv app.