Olympic draw: Djokovic to attack the Golden Slam, 4 Czechs also think about medals

23. on July 1, the Summer Olympic Games in Tokyo will officially open. A tennis tournament has also been scheduled to begin on Saturday. Who will be among the biggest favourites? What opponents will the Czech representatives face?

The defending Olympic gold medalist is Andy Murray. However, the Briton is not at the same level of performance as in the past. It would be a surprise if he advances to the final rounds.

He’s already facing a very difficult opponent in his first match. He will face the talented Auger-Alliasi. The Canadian is in great form and will be the favourite.

Novak Djokovic will be the biggest favourite of the tournament. The Serb is having a dream season. He’s won all 3 Grand Slams and is looking for the legendary Golden Slam. He still needs to win the Olympics and the US Open. A feat only Steffi Graf has ever accomplished. Dellien awaits him in the first round. Djokovic should make it through the opening round without any problems.

One of the biggest draws of the 1st round will be the Medvedev-Bublik match. The Russian is one of the favorites and can go far. The dangerous Bublik will be an extremely tough test for him. It could be a big fight and it’s not impossible that there will be a big surprise.

The draw has been relatively favourable for the only Czech representative in the men’s singles. Machac will face Sousa. A playable opponent. He’s got a solid chance to move on.

In Rio 2016, Monica Puig unexpectedly won the women’s tournament. She won’t be competing in the tournament, however, and other players will be competing for the precious metals.

The biggest favourite will be Ashleigh Barty. The Australian has dominated Wimbledon and is at the top of the rankings. She’ll face Sorribes-Torm in the first round. The Spaniard practices a nasty style, but Barty should be the favourite to advance.

She’ll also be dangerous against the home team, Osaka. The Japanese missed Wimbledon due to mental problems and media pressure. But now she’s back. She’ll face Zheng in the first round. The question is, what kind of form is she in?

Other favourites will include Sabalenka, Muguruza and Swiatek.

The Czechs won’t want to be left behind either. There will be a lot of strong players missing at the tournament and this is a big chance for Kvitova and co.

The Czech number one will be Karolina Pliskova. The Czech has recently shone in reaching the Wimbledon final. She seems to have finally found her lost form. In the opening round, she will face the unpredictable Cornetova. She’s not going to have an easy time of it.

Petra Kvitova has big ambitions . The Czech is defending her bronze and will be looking to repeat that success. However, she is not in ideal form and can only surprise. She will face Paolini in the first round.

The best Czech hope will be Barbora Krejcikova. This season she won the title in Strasbourg, sensationally became the champion of Rolland Garros, a week ago she dominated the tournament in Prague. She’s up to 11th in the rankings. She’s in sensational form. She’ll face Diyas in the first round and she’ll be the clear favourite.

The last Czech player in the women’s singles will be Markéta Vondroušová. She hasn’t been doing well lately. She is experiencing results woes and a game crisis. She can only surprise in Tokyo, no big result is expected from her. She’ll face Bertens in her opening match. A pretty solid draw. A win could give Vondrousova a positive boost.

First round picks:

Murray-Auger Alliassime

Rublev-Nishikori

Medvedev-Bublik

Kudermetova-Muguruza

Suarez Navarro-Jabeur

Giorgi-Brady

Czech matches:

Machac-Sousa

Pliskova-Cornetova

Kvitova-Paolini

Krejcikova-Diyasova

Vondrousova-Bertens