The Australian Open is one of the most popular sporting events in the southern hemisphere. People throng to the stadiums to watch their favorite tennis stars battle it out on the hard courts. Moreover, the broadcasters are raking in huge numbers as the event unfolds with the World No. 1 Ashleigh Barty recording more viewers than the Spaniard, Rafael Nadal and crowd-favorite Nick Kyrgios.

The ratings are based on Australia’s Nine Network and people are clearly desperate for a glimpse of the title favorite and number 1 seed.

Ashleigh Barty surpasses Nadal and Kyrgios

Nine Network, which has the broadcasting rights for the Australian Open 2022 in Australia, released their rating statistics of the first five days of the Grand Slam Down Under. Ashleigh Barty’s third-round victory over Camila Giorgi of Italy brought in a record number of viewers. The match peaked with 1.686 million viewers, even bigger than Kyrgios’ second-round encounter with top-seed Daniil Medvedev.

Further, Rafael Nadal’s third-round victory against Russian Karen Khachanov on day 5 peaked at 1.204 million viewers. Moreover, 4.410 million people tuned in to Nine Network to watch the Grand Slam on Friday. As of day 5, 8.204 million viewers have watched Nine’s coverage of the Grand Slam Down Under.

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Earlier, on day 4, Nick Kyrgios’ match against Daniil Medvedev recorded 1.628 million views. Alex De Minaur’s victory over Kamil Majchrzak of Poland in the second round had 693,000 viewers watching on Nine Network. Day 4 of the Australian Open recorded 4.747 million viewers.

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The story of the Australian Open 2022 thus far

In the men’s section, World No. 1 Novak Djokovic was denied an entry in the opening Grand Slam of the season because of his vaccination status. Further, Rafael Nadal looks in good form as he proceeds in the top half of the draw. World Number 2 Daniil Medvedev defeated Nick Kyrgios to move to the third round. The Russian weathered the Australian’s big serves as he moved ahead in the bottom half of the draw.

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The women’s section, like usual, has seen several early upsets. World Number 3 Garbine Muguruza exited in the second round after losing to Alize Cornet of France. Two-time Australian Open champion Naomi Osaka went down fighting to Amanda Anisimova in a three-setter thriller. However, top seed and World Number 1 Ashleigh Barty is looking in good touch as she entered the 4th round.

Who are your picks for this year’s Australian Open title? Do let us know your views in the comments below.