JUSTINE HENIN PREVIEWS THE 2023 AUSTRALIAN OPEN

On the men’s favourites:
On the men’s side, Novak Djokovic will be the big favourite but it will be so close. It will be such an interesting tournament. Novak has won so much and so many times that he will be the biggest favourite for a lot of people.

On Sascha Zverev:
His injury must be so tough to come back from, I don’t have too many expectations at the moment. I wish he finds his way as soon as possible, but if we remain realistic, it will take some time. I don’t know exactly how he feels but it’s great he’s back. He will be fresh and happy to be back on the Tour but needs to accept it will take a little bit of time to get the confidence and rhythm back along with his physical capacities.

On the women’s favourites:
On the women’s, Iga Swiatek is by far the number one and she has been so dominant, winning two Slams last year, but it will be a little bit more difficult for her in the second half of the season with a lot of points to defend. There will be more questions for her this season with how she can deal with pressure with a lot of points to defend. She won two Slams last year and the last one in New York and proved she is the best player in the world including on hard courts. But the women’s game is quite open, especially at the beginning of the season.

Women’s tennis has been quite unstable in the past few years and not one person has been dominant in their results over a long time. We saw her cry after her last loss against Pegula because she always wants to do so well. There are so many things that can be behind that and we don’t know. An athlete is also a person and we have to deal with a lot of things in our personal life. Iga expresses her emotions in a very intense way but she is an intense player. She has to bring the confidence and experience she won last year. She gave us the impression that she has everything to be our new leader, which is fantastic. Others will have opportunities and many girls will have to do everything they can to take these opportunities.

Jessica Pegula has become so consistent and is smart but needs a little bit more to go further. We will keep looking at Coco Gauff and her development this year too. They can be dangerous for Iga for sure, but if we think about long distance over the season, Swiatek is quite comfortable as the world no.1

Why is it more difficult for women to be dominant in tennis these days?
Things have changed in terms of consistency. Society is changing too. There are new generations and things to deal with. I am very happy I didn’t have to play in the time of social media which takes a lot of time and energy. That feeling that you have to be in communication all the time. It is a choice but it still takes time. Players now have a lot to deal with away from the court but maybe it is more today.

Coaches also change a lot on the women’s circuit, not for everyone, but a lot. The stability of the men’s and women’s Tour is different and I believe consistency brings a stable environment that helps performance. Players are used to the fact that a lot of different girls can win, which is a great opportunity. We like to get surprises but we need a leader and some good rivalries. Some girls can play really well during tournaments but find it hard to sustain that all season.

On the defending champion, Rafael Nadal:
For Rafa, what he did last year was a huge surprise. Not a surprise that he found the resource because he is such a hard worker and when he gets confidence he is so dangerous. He has the experience and mentality even after a long injury. He can always make it. A lot of people asked questions about his form at the moment, [physically. He is a Dad now and has to deal with new things in his life. But he is a huge professional. He will want to win that first match this year to try and advance in the tournament. We missed the best Rafa at the end of the season, especially at the Masters. He was far from his best level but that does not mean he won’t be able to find that level again in future.

On the next generation including Italy’s young stars – Matteo Berrettini, Lorenzo Musetti, Jannik Sinner:
It’s great to see these guys because they play great tennis and they are good people. Berrettini it has been tough the last year with injury and coming to Wimbledon with Covid. Sinner, I am curious about him. The match he played at the US Open was one of the best of the season, he needs to keep developing himself as a player and get to the next stage he can pass.

We have so many generations with Medvedev, Tsitsipas, then the even younger one coming behind, it’s just fantastic. With Musetti and others, top players have to show it. They want to play tennis and it’s positive for men’s tennis. Alcaraz becoming number one at just 19-year-old is huge. He has to deal with the physicality of tennis and the pressure and it will not be easy for him to sustain this.

Justine Henin is an expert for Warner Bros. Discovery Sport's coverage of the Australian Open in Europe. Coverage starts on discovery+, Eurosport and Eurosport App from Monday 16 January.