Photo taken from the NY Times
With the Australian Open main draws tomorrow I thought I'd talk about a of the players beforehand.
On the mens side Rafael Nadal will continue as the No.1 seed. In the 4 years he has played in the Australian open each year he goes one stage further into the tournament than the last; last year having reached the semifinals. Could he possibly reach the finals this year? It's not impossible - with a good draw he could possibly even win it all - it really depends on how the draw works out for him but currently I think there are other players more likely to win than him - and out of the Top 4 his chances seem to be the worst.
For me though I'm expecting a Quarterfinal/Semifinal appearance from him.
Roger Federer use to dominate this scene but I doubt he will dominate this year - with 3 consecutive tournament defeats from Andy Murray I honestly doubt he will be considered a favourite - if Andy Murray was to be in his draw it would be interesting to see if Federer could step his game up.
I'm expecting a semifinal/final appearance from Federer but does anyone remember how tense his 3rd Round match was against Tipsarevic - so I'm not discounting a shock early exit.
It's amazing to see how Djokovic has developed in the past year or so, early 2007 we were still calling him a potentially great player but 2 years on he has fledged to become a possible No.1 candidate. His forages in the Australian Open were dismal before 2008, with his best performance being a 4th round exit to Federer; last year he was in form and the likes of Nadal and Federer were just not ready to take the title. This year however Nadal has stepped his game up and Murray has also become a potential titlist so I wonder if Djokovic will have his way again. He is a great player but at times he can still be unpredictable.
I'm expecting a Semifinal/final appearance.
Andy Murray is probably the hope of Britain for 2009; he's expected to produce some amazing results in tennis but lets step back to the real world for the minute. Yes Murray is undoubtedly continuing his great form from last year but lets look at his record in the Australian Open; he's never reached the Quarterfinal stages, now call me a party wrecker but I'm slightly doubtful that Murray could win the whole tournament despite having such a weak record for a Top 5 player. It would definitely be the fairytale come true after losing in the 1st round last year. I do think he is more mature and plays much better now but I have an inevitable feeling that something will happen to Murray which will set him back a few steps. We all remember how we thought Murray had a promising chance in the Australian Open last year but then lost in the 1st round; so will something similar happen again? He is still a favourite but I'm not going to put money just yet on him winning the title.
Very Varied expectations from him but Quarterfinal appearance at the least. Possible finalist.
So now we've gone through the top 4 lets look at the players trying to cause a shock. Jo -Wilfred Tsonga is likely the 5th seed of the tournament. His run last year was nothing but amazing however he didn't seem to get a move on until late last year. I doubt he will be able to emulate his performance but being a Top 8 seed will definitely help him in the draw.
Expecting a 4th Round/Quarterfinal appearance - if he is given a good draw maybe even a semifinal appearance
Gilles Simon is a top 10 player who you wouldn't be amazed if he suddenly became a Top 20 player. He still hasn't had the achievements to catapult him as a favourite in any main draw. However he did have a good year in 2008 getting to the latter stages in quite a few tournaments and etching a few wins here and there; however like most players he was a later riser also. I wouldn't doubt his chances of doing well in this tournament but come the big guns I doubt he'll be able to survive. He also doesn't have that good a record in the Australian Open.
4th Round appearance, possible Quarterfinal
Andy Roddick seems to have lost his touch to keep in the Top 5 and to be honest I believe is is only going to get worse from here on. He had a good few tournaments last year and also got to the finals in Doha. However like many players his nemesis not only comes in the name of Federer but also recently, Murray. He left last year in the 3rd Round so I really don't know what to expect from him. I just hope he gets a draw which he can contend with a maybe cause a shock in the Top 4.
Expected to see him at least in Round 4 with a Quarterfinal appearance also possible.
Juan Martin Del Potro will probably be the 8th seed looking at the current rankings but I doubt he'll make it far in the Australian Open.
Expecting a third round or possibly 4th Round appearance
Other players of note:
David Ferrer maybe the possible link to one of the Top 8 being dismantled.
Marin Cilic had a good run to the 4th Round last year; with a good draw he could topple off a Top 8 player.
Richard Gasquet, its been quite a long time since we saw Gasquet below the Top 20 but maybe this will ease some of the pressure off him. He's had a steady two years in the Australian open so he could cause an upset.
Marat Safin; remember when he use to be a favourite of the Australian Open, winning in 2005 and having played in 2 finals beforehand. Well this year is supposedly his last so maybe we could expect a stellar performance from him!
There are also a few other potentials but I don't want to blog it down too much as I've written a lot already.
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