“If you’re on the main,top tour,you should be set to play all the big events,and they should all be slightly bigger-draw events to get basically everybody in the top 100 in,and I think that’s honestly all we should play.
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“You can have 14 marquee events,and it makes tennis easy to follow for fans because all you have to pay attention to is those tournaments. There’s no people getting tons of points in between events,at like 250s and 500s[level],and more than anything,there’s no crazy schedule for us players.”
Fritz will arrive in Perth this month to help the United States try to defend its United Cup title,in a brutal round-robin group against Australia,led by Alex de Minaur,and Great Britain.
The 26-year-old believes the streamlined format for that tournament,with one men’s and one women’s singles then a mixed doubles,will remove one of his country’s great advantages – depth – and make it much easier for upsets to occur.
“With the format being different,so many more things can happen,and it’s going to be a lot tougher for us to defend the title. But we are definitely still one of the top teams,so we’ll see,” he said.
“‘Demon’[de Minaur] in Australia is going to be tough,and then[Great Britain’s] Cam[Norrie] and I have played so many times,and had so many close matches,so I’m going to have to be prepared. One of the things that’s so good about the event is I can get some high-level matches in before the Australian Open,and feel ready to go.”
A record-setting 902,312 fans attended the 2023 Australian Open,including qualifying week,and Tiley is aiming to beat that number,particularly with the tournament starting a day earlier,on Sunday,January 14.
Rafael Nadal is a confirmed starter,after being announced as a marquee signing for the lead-in event in Brisbane,but there is still major doubt on Nick Kyrgios’ involvement as he recovers from a serious wrist injury.
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The 2024 Australian Open promises to be one of the strongest on record,with a number of big-name players set to use special rankings to enter after extended breaks due to injuries,mental health or pregnancy.
That group includes past winners Naomi Osaka and Angelique Kerber,and Australia’s Ajla Tomljanovic,while Caroline Wozniacki is set to receive a main draw wildcard as she continues her comeback. Four-time AO quarter-finalist Kei Nishikori could also be a wildcard contender.
Tiley did not rule out giving Bernard Tomic a qualifying wildcard,but it is considered unlikely.
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