The 109th edition of the Australian Open will finally start on February 8 in the backdrop of the COVID-19 pandemic. The season's opening Grand Slam tournament was originally scheduled for 18–31 January, but was postponed by three weeks. (More Tennis News)
Novak Djokovic and Sofia Kenin are the defending champions in men's and women's singles respectively. Easy as it is to assemble a list of significant story lines — from Rafael Nadal's bid for a men's-record 21st Grand Slam singles trophy to Serena Williams' try for her 24th, from Djokovic's attempt to win a third consecutive title at Melbourne Park to Kenin's defense of her first major championship, and so on — nothing hangs over the upcoming two weeks quite like questions involving the coronavirus.
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But the focus will be surely on the on-court action, and here's how fans can watch the tennis spectacle:
Telecast
Sony Pictures Sports Network (SPSN) will broadcast the year’s first Grand Slam live on SONY SIX, SONY TEN 2 and SONY TEN 3 channels starting February 8, 2021 in India.
Live streaming will be available on SonyLiv.
SPSN in a statement said that, "it will bring the best action from Melbourne Park and provide in-depth insights from the tournament on their studio show, Extraaa Serve. Former tennis players like Somdev Devvarman, Gaurav Natekar, Purav Raja and Enrico Piperno are all set to feature as expert panelists on Extraaa Serve while Manish Batavia, Gaurav Natekar and Atish Thukral will provide the Hindi commentary for the tournament on Sony Ten 3 channels."
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SPSN have also "launched their campaign ‘The Greats Are Back’". The campaign, the statement said, "revolves around the premise that the greatest tennis players would make one of the biggest comebacks in Tennis history in Australia after a global setback faced due to the pandemic."
What's at stake?
Fans can watch top players like Djokovic, Nadal, Dominic Thiem, Williams, Ash Barty and Simona Halep among others competing for the prestigious trophies - Norman Brooks Challenge Cup (Men’s) and Daphne Akhurst Memorial Cup (Women’s). And there are doubles and wheelchair competitions.
Seeded players
Men's singles (from 1 to 32, in that order): Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, Dominic Thiem, Daniil Medvedev, Stefanos Tsitsipas, Alexander Zverev, Andrey Rublev, Diego Schwartzman, Matteo Berrettini, Gael Monfils, Denis Shapovalov, Roberto Bautista Agut, David Goffin, Milos Raonic, Pablo Carreno Busta, Fabio Fognini, Stan Wawrinka, Grigor Dimitrov, Karen Khachanov, Felix Auger-Aliassime, Alex de Minaur, Borna Coric, Dusan Lajovic, Casper Ruud, Benoit Paire, Hubert Hurkacz, Taylor Fritz, Filip Krajinovic, Ugo Humbert, Dan Evans, Lorenzo Sonego and Adrian Mannarino.
Women's singles (from 1 to 32, in that order): Ashleigh Barty, Simona Halep, Naomi Osaka, Sofia Kenin, Elina Svitolina, Karolina Pliskova, Aryna Sabalenka, Bianca Andreescu, Petra Kvitova, Serena Williams, Belinda Bencic, Victoria Azarenka, Johanna Konta, Garbine Muguruza, Iga Swiatek, Petra Martic, Elena Rybakina, Elise Mertens, Marketa Vondrousova, Maria Sakkari, Anett Kontaveit, Jennifer Brady, Angelique Kerber, Alison Riske, Karolina Muchova, Yulia Putintseva, Ons Jabeur, Donna Vekic, Ekaterina Alexandrova, Wang Qiang, Zhang Shuai and Veronika Kudermetova.
