Australian Open 2023: How Novak Djokovic's draw has fallen apart after the first week

Novak Djokovic is four wins away from winning a record-extending 10th Australian Open trophy and record-equalling 22nd Grand Slam title. Many expect him to get the job done in the final at Melbourne Park this Sunday.

With Rafael Nadal, Andy Murray, Dominic Thiem and Daniil Medvedev out of the tournament in the first week, there are no more Slam champions left in the draw (Carlos Alcaraz and Marin Cilic withdrew with injury). To make matters even easier, Djokovic's draw has fallen apart quite a bit after the completion of the first three rounds.

After beating Roberto Carballes Baena and Enzo Couacaud in his opening matches, the 21-time Grand Slam champion faced off against former World No. 3 Grigor Dimitrov in the third round on Friday. A straight-sets victory sent Djokovic into the fourth round, where he will take on local lad Alex de Minaur.

But if the seeds had held, it would have been Pablo Carreno Busta who took on the former World No. 1 at this stage. The Spaniard could not make it to the third round, losing to Benjamin Bonzi in a thrilling five-setter.

A victory against De Minaur will lead to Novak Djokovic taking on either Andrey Rublev or Holger Rune in the quarterfinals, and not Nick Kyrgios as many fans around the world had been expecting. What would have been a repeat of last year's Wimbledon final has been denied, thanks to the Aussie withdrawing from the tournament just prior to his opener due to a knee injury.

The semifinal clash, meanwhile, was expected to be between Novak Djokovic and either Capser Ruud or Taylor Fritz, both top 10 players. But neither made it past the second round, with Ruud losing to Jenson Brooksby in four sets and Fritz falling to Alexei Popyrin in three.

Matteo Berrettini and Alexander Zverev did not make it either, leaving the bottom quarter very open.

The quarterfinalist from that portion of the draw will now be one of Roberto Bautista Agut, Tommy Paul, Ben Shelton and JJ Wolf. Most believe those players would be much easier opponents for the Serb, at least on paper.

Novak Djokovic will face first-time Australian Open finalist if he goes that far

Novak Djokovic at the 2023 Australian Open

The top half of the draw has been even more chaotic, with a first-time Australian Open finalist guaranteed. Losses to Rafael Nadal and Daniil Medvedev have led to Yoshihito Nishioka, Karen Khachanov, Hubert Hurkacz and Sebastian Korda reaching the fourth round from the first quarter.

The second quarter, on the other hand, still has its top seeds -- Stefanos Tsitsipas and Felix Auger-Aliassime. The Greek will take on Jannik Sinner in the fourth round, while Auger-Aliassime will cross swords with Jiri Lehecka, who stunned Cameron Norrie in the previous round.

No matter who reaches the final from these eight players, Djokovic will fancy his chances in the summit clash. A title run in Melbourne will see the 21-time Slam champion reclaim the World No. 1 spot from Carlos Alcaraz, making it the first time since February last year that Djokovic would be the top-ranked ATP player.