As the first man to bear the brunt of future world No.1 Carlos Alcaraz in a tour final, Richard Gasquet’s prophecy of greatness already holds true just two-and-a-half years later.
Nearing the twilight stages of a 22-year career, the veteran Frenchman – a former world No.7 and one-time hyped teenager – has the sizeable challenge of facing the Spaniard for just the second time on Tuesday in the closing night match on Rod Laver Arena.
DRAW: Australian Open 2024 men’s singles
How Alcaraz has soared since that 2021 Umag final.
This will be the 20-year-old’s first official match on Australian soil since he became a dual major champion after he missed AO 2023 due to a hamstring injury.
“He plays with a lot of energy, with a lot of spin, he’s playing unbelievable. He’s only 18 but I think he has of course a great future,” Gasquet said of the burgeoning teenager following that first showdown.
“I couldn’t play to his level and his intensity. He’s a great player… He has a potential to win a Grand Slam. In one or two years he’ll be top 10.
“He has the level for it. He’s playing very good, he’s doing all the shots. He will be soon at the top of the game for sure.”
The only part of the prediction 37-year-old Gasquet erred on was the timeline. Just nine months later Alcaraz had cracked the top 10.
Having traded places with his Wimbledon final victim Novak Djokovic for the No.1 ranking last season, the Spaniard has returned to Melbourne Park as the No.2 seed.
It shaped up as a different approach to a new season after he touched down without his regular coach, Juan Carlos Ferrero – who recently underwent knee surgery – and having elected to skip tour events in the build-up.
“I think I'm a guy who doesn't need so much competition before a big tournament,” Alacaraz said. “Obviously [it] always helps [but] I think I'm prepared to do good things here in the Grand Slam.”
Iga to make a start
Opening the day session on RLA, world No.1 Iga Swiatek also faces an opponent she denied for her maiden tour title in AO 2020 champion Sofia Kenin.
DRAW: Australian Open 2024 women's singles
Unlike Alcaraz, the Pole had already featured in her first final and came up short, but the stage for her first trophy could not have been bigger.
Ranked No.54 at the time, she stunned Kenin for the Roland-Garros silverware in 2020, the first of four major titles to date.
Swiatek extended her unbeaten streak to 16 wins in the lead-up when she added four singles wins for Poland at the United Cup to a statement triumph at last year’s WTA Finals in Cancun.
World No.41 Kenin has denied a world No.1 on Rod Laver Arena before after she saw off Ash Barty en route to the title four years ago, but the 25-year-old has not reached the second week at a major in almost three years.
A narrowly beaten finalist in one of the greatest Australian Open finals on Rod Laver Arena a year ago, Wimbledon 2022 champion Elena Rybakina returns to open the night session against former world No.1 Karolina Pliskova.
In a battle between two of the most potent servers in the women’s game, rallies will likely come at a premium.
The Kazakhstani third seed, who holds a 3-0 advantage in their head-to-head record, comes off a definitive final win over Aryna Sabalenka in Brisbane while now-38th-ranked Pliskova comes off an injury marred season.
After opening his season with a runner-up showing against Grigor Dimitrov in Brisbane, eighth seed Holger Rune meets Japanese left-hander Yoshihito Nishioka on Rod Laver Arena in the day’s second showdown. The Dane fell to the world No.61 in their only previous meeting in Adelaide leading in a year ago.
Two-time former champion Victoria Azarenka will begin her 16th Australian Open campaign against hard-hitting Italian Camila Giorgi on Margaret Court Arena, while US Open 2021 champion Emma Raducanu faces American Shelby Rogers on 1573 Arena.