The same injury issues that plagued the ATP Tour throughout the second half of the 2017 campaign are still dominating the headlines as Week 1 of the 2018 season looms. For example, the upcoming Brisbane International will be missing both Rafael Nadal and Kei Nishikori.
Still, the 250-point tournament features an impressive field of 28 led by top seed and 2017 Nitto ATP Finals champion Grigor Dimitrov. The other three first-round bye recipients are Andy Murray, Milos Raonic, and Nick Kyrgios. Murray and Raonic have also been dealing with physical problems that kept them mostly sidelined following Wimbledon this past summer. The former world No. 1 took the court briefly at the recent Mubadala World Tennis Championship in Abu Dhabi, where he lost a one-set exhibition against Roberto Bautista Agut 6-2.
“I felt better as it went on,” said Murray, who dropped the first four games against the Spaniard. “Obviously, I was a little slow at the start. When you haven’t competed for a while it takes time to get up with the pace. I will need to keep improving. I was lucky to be able to come out and play. It was good fun; I’ve missed it.”
In the absences of Murray, Nadal, Nishikori, Raonic, Novak Djokovic, Stan Wawrinka, and others at various times last season, Dimitrov was among those who took advantage. In addition to his first career Masters 1000 title in Cincinnati, the Bulgarian triumphed at the O2 Arena–going undefeated with victories over Dominic Thiem, David Goffin, Pablo Carreno Busta, Jack Sock, and Goffin again in the final.
Dimitrov awaits either John Millman or a qualifier in his Brisbane opener. That top section of the draw also includes 2017 Sydney champion Gilles Muller, Denis Shapovalov, and Kyle Edmund. Dimitrov vs. Kyrgios is a potential semifinal in what would be a rematch of the Cincinnati final. As for the bottom half of the bracket, just about anything could happen with Murray and Raonic heading into this year as obvious question marks. Assuming those two men are still less than 100 percent, Damir Dzumhur, Mischa Zverev, Jared Donaldson, or Ryan Harrison may be able to capitalize on an early 2018 opportunity.
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