Australian Open 2023: Top 8 seeds set for men's singles ft. Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic

Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic will be among the top eight seeds in the men's singles draw at the 2023 Australian Open, which starts in Melbourne on January 16.

Following the withdrawal of World No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz due to a freak injury in training, World No. 2 and defending champion Rafael Nadal will headline the field. Casper Ruud and Stefanos Tsitsipas will be the next two seeds, while nine-time champion Novak Djokovic, ranked fifth in the world, will be the fourth seed.

Andrey Rublev, Felix Auger-Aliassime, 2022 finalist Daniil Medvedev, and Taylor Fritz will be the next four seeds to round out the top eight.

Apart from two-time champion Nadal, nine-time champion Djokovic and two-time runner-up Medvedev, the five other top-eight seeds are yet to reach the final at Melbourne Park.

Third seed Tsitsipas has reached the semis three times, including twice in the last two years. Second seed Ruud has never been beyond the fourth round in three appearances at the tournament.

Fifth seed Rublev reached the quarterfinals in 2021, while sixth seed Auger-Aliassime did so last year. Eighth seed Fritz made the fourth round last year.

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How have Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic fared in the lead-up to the 2023 Australian Open?

Djokovic (left) and Nadal played a memorable final in 2012.

Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic are the two most successful active players at the Australian Open.

Nadal has a 76-15 record at Melbourne Park, reaching the final six times and winning twice. Djokovic, meanwhile, is 82-8 at the first Grand Slam of the year, winning all nine finals - including two against Nadal (2012, 2019).

However, the two players have had contrasting fortunes in the lead-up to the 2023 Australian Open. While Nadal opened his season with consecutive defeats for the first time in his illustrious career, Djokovic is yet to lose a set in four matches. The Serb plays Sebastian Korda in the Adelaide 1 final today as he looks for his career singles title No. 92.

Nadal, meanwhile, stumbled to losses against Cameron Norrie of Great Britain and Alex de Minaur of Australia at the United Cup, where Spain crashed out before the last four. The Spaniard has now lost five of his six singles matches since the birth of his first child Rafael Nadal Jr. in October.

Djokovic is one of three players (Ruud and Tsitsipas are the others) who could leave the Australian Open as the World No. 1. While Djokovic and Tsitsipas need to win the tournament to do so, Ruud needs to reach the final and hope Djokovic and Tsitsipas do not.

Interestingly, Nadal is not in the race, as he trails Alcaraz by 800 points, with the younger Spaniard dropping only 90 points after making the third round last year. A successful title defense would have Nadal 710 points adrift of Alcaraz, who would remain World No. 1 if Ruud doesn't reach the final.

Meanwhile, if Djokovic goes all the way, he will move level with Nadal (22) atop the all-time Grand Slam title leaderboard.