After the Mubadala World Tennis Championship, Rafael Nadal expressed his doubts about playing the Australian Open. It looked almost certain that the Spanish sensation would have skipped the first slam of the year after he announced that he got infected by the coronavirus after Abu Dhabi.
Fortunately, Nadal surprised his fans after announcing that instead, he would play the Australian Open. Actually, Nadal will also compete in a warm-up event in Melbourne that will be played in the first week of January.
Entry list Melbourne ATP 250
After Nadal, Reilly Opelka, Grigor Dimitrov, and Lloyd Harris will be the other top seeds in the ATP250 tournament that will take place in Melbourne.
This is the updated entry list.
| Seed | Name | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rafael Nadal | 6 |
| 2 | Reilly Opelka | 26 |
| 3 | Grigor Dimitrov | 28 |
| 4 | Lloyd Harris | 31 |
| 5 | David Goffin | 39 |
| 6 | Benoit Paire | 46 |
| 7 | Ilya Ivashka | 48 |
| 8 | Dominik Koepfer | 54 |
| Mackenzie McDonald | 55 | |
| Botic van de Zandschulp | 57 | |
| Alexei Popyrin | 61 | |
| Tallon Griekspoor | 65 | |
| Marcos Giron | 66 | |
| Adrian Mannarino | 71 | |
| Jordan Thompson | 75 | |
| Facundo Bagnis | 76 | |
| Jaume Munar | 77 | |
| Stefano Travaglia | 78 | |
| Kevin Anderson | 80 | |
| Peter Gojowczyk | 86 | |
| Richard Gasquet | 87 | |
| (WC) Nick Kyrgios | 93 |
Rafael Nadal in 2021
Currently ranked no.6, the Spaniard played his last match on the 18th of December when he surrendered to world no.14 Denis Shapovalov 6-7(4) 6-3 10-6 in the Bro. in (draw).
During this season the Spaniard has a 24-5 win-loss record. Nadal conquered 2 titles in 2021 in Barcelona and in Rome.
Reilly Opelka in 2021
LLLLWLWLWW At the moment ranked no.26, Opelka played his last match on the 26th of November when he lost to world no.27 Lorenzo Sonego 6-3 7-6(4) in the Rubber 1 of the Davis Cup (draw).
Currently, during this year the American has a compiled 21-23 win-loss record. Reilly Opelka’s best accomplishment of this season was getting to the final in Toronto.
Rafael Nadal and Reilly Opelka faced off only once. Their record is 1-0 for Nadal. When they played, Rafael Nadal won 6-4 6-4 in the semifinal in Rome (Internazionali BNL d’Italia) on the 15th of May 2021.
In the following video you can watch the highlights.
Grigor Dimitrov in 2021
At the moment ranked no.28, Grigor played his last match on the 4th of November when he lost to world no.3 Alexander Zverev 7-6(4) 6-7(3) 6-3 in the 3rd round in Paris (draw).
Presently, during this year the Bulgarian has a 24-18 record. Grigor Dimitrov’s best result of the year was reaching the semifinal in San Diego and Indian Wells.
Lloyd Harris in 2021
LWWWWLWWLW Ranked world no.31 (career-high), Lloyd played his last match on the 26th of October when he surrendered to world no.8 Casper Ruud 7-5 7-6(2) in the 1st round in Vienna (draw).
During this season Lloyd has a 32-22 win-loss record. Lloyd Harris’s best accomplishment of this year was getting to the final in Dubai.
Grigor Dimitrov and Lloyd Harris played each other once. The head to head is 1-0 for Harris. When they played, Lloyd Harris won 6-3 3-6 7-6(5) in the 1st round in Madrid (Mutua Madrid Open) on the 3rd of May 2021.
In the following video you can watch the highlights.
Rafael Nadal |
| Embed from Getty Images |
