2023 January Player Schedules: Djokovic, Nadal, Alcaraz

If you blinked you missed the off season. In fact, I don’t think there was an off season. The ATP Finals rolled into the Davis Cup which rolled into weeks and weeks of exhibitions. And guys like Novak Djokovic and Alexander Zverev even played the Dubai team event which ended December 24.

Djokovic’s off season was maybe 48 hours before jumping on a flight to Australia. But after last year’s fiasco, he’ll take it.

Djokovic makes his official start in a loaded Adelaide field next week.

Meanwhile Rafael Nadal and Zverev make their 2023 debuts in the newfangled United ATP Davis Laver Hopman World Team Cup.

Whatever it is — it does give players a guaranteed number of matches to help start their season — the United Cup merges both the ATP and WTA tours together for a team event. Will it matter? Probably not right now. The ATP Cup never moved the needle in any meaningful way and the addition of the women likely won’t do much. But it could be the way forward down the road. It’s a model that could gain traction down the road and the lines as the space between the two tours narrows.

While Djokovic will be a huge storyline in 2023, Carlos Alcaraz goes in as the No. 1. But the youngster jumping into the fray that quickly. After having now recover from a end-of-year ab injury, he only played a exo and plans to play Kooyong ahead of Melbourne. So he won’t be tournament tested in his first test as a Grand Slam champion.

It’s good to see Alexander Zverev back. He was in form and I think primed to take that next step until that horrific ankle injury ended his 2022 season. But he’ll play at the United Cup.

I’ll have a bigger preview of the upcoming season which just began. Here’s where everyone is playing! (After a busy exo season, seems everyone is easing in!)

Dec 29
United Cup: Rafael Nadal, Stefanos Tsitsipas, Alexander Zverev, Matteo Berrettini, Taylor Fritz, Casper Ruud, Hubert Hurkacz, Iga Swiatek, Paula Badosa, Petra Kvitova, Belinda Bencic

January 1
Adelaide 1: Novak Djokovic, Daniil Medvedev, Andrey Rublev, Felix Auger-Aliassime, Jannik Sinner, Holger Rune, Andy Murray
Pune: Marin Cilic, Botic Van De Zandschulp, Jenson Brooksby

January 9
Adelaide 2: Nick Kyrgios, Andrey Rublev, Lorenzo Musetti, Karen Khachanov, Pablo Carreno Busta
Auckland: Casper Ruud, Holger Ruud, Diego Schwartzman, John Isner, Cameron Norrie
Kooyong Exo: Carlos Alcaraz, Taylor Fritz, Marin Cilic, Jannik Sinner

By Player:
Novak Djokovic: Adelaide 1
Rafael Nadal: United Cup
Carlos Alcaraz: Kooyong Exo
Daniil Medvedev: Adelaide 1
Stefanos Tsitsipas: United Cup
Casper Ruud: United Cup, Auckland

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