Sooooo starting with the ladies:
Serena Williams
Serena is the hot favourite to win the title however she will face one or two tricky obstacles in her path, such as Maria Kirilenko, the Russian No.2, and Peng Shuai of China (also the No.2 in China). And later on in the draw Serena will face as a potential quarter final opponent either Petra Kvitova, although she has struggled of late, and Nadia Petrova, who has made a resurgance lately back on the scene, especially as she won her biggest title last year in Tokyo. But Serena's main rival will be Victoria Azarenka, and they are set to met in the semi finals, which promises to be one heck of a match, but Serena I'm sure will come out on top. Its just a pity they are both drawn on the side same together as we could have had another great final, but I'm sure whatever way it goes Serena will be in that final. And Serena has also said she plans on going for the calendar slam this season, and trying to win all four majors, and if there is one player that can do it, its her. (that's a pic of Serena holding her 2013 Brisbane International trophy).
Victoria Azarenka
Vika, who is the defending champion also has one or two testing opponents in her way, but she has tendency to blast her way past her opponents earlier on in the draw. Nonetheless there are one or two dangers lurking for Vika such as potentially Sara Errani should they meet, possibly in the quarter finals, and there is also Caroline Wozniacki who could also be a possible quater final opponent. Now for me that would be the pick of the lot, as I'd would love to see the two of them play each other again. But Victoria's main obstacle will be Serena Williams, who she is set to meet in the semi finals. Can she beat Serena this time after getting so close in the US Open???? Possibly, but it will be one big test of her character and her ability to do so. Personally I think Victoria can make the semis but I'd have to say Serena would be the favourite in their match. Regardless Vika is the world no.1 for a reason, and she is improving all the time, so she could yet defend her title (that's a pic of her at an Aussie open press conference).
Maria Sharapova
Maria is the world No.2, and she has the power to easily to bludgeon her way past most of her rivals, but she too will have a few toughies in her way. For starters Maria could face Venus Williams, and should they meet that would promise to be one hell of a match, but whether or not it would live up to the billing or not, who knows?? Should could also face the pint sized Dominika Cibulkova, who has had a good run this week in the Sydney Apia International, despite getting trounced by Agnieszka Radwanska there in the final. Maria also could face Marion Bartoli and Angelique Kerber in the latter stages as well, with Radwanska being a possible semi finalist, which could make for a really dangerous path for her before she would have a possible line up with Serena in the final. However Maria is mentally one of the toughest players in the game, as well as one of the great warriors as well, so she will be hard to stop and she has a very good chance at going deep and possibly reaching the final. (pic of Maria holding her French Open trophy from last year, having completed her career slam).
Agnieszka Radwanska
So onto Aga, who has gotten off to the perfect start in 2013 so far, as she has just won two titles back to back in Auckland and Sydney, without even dropping a set so far this year! So this bodes extremely for her in Melbourne as if she can keep this record up then she will be nigh impossible to stop. However Radwanska may have some tough customers in her draw one of which being Ana Ivanovic, who has shown drastic improvements over the last year or so in her game. Radwanska could also potentially face either Li Na or Sam Stosur in the quarter finals before setting up a semi final clash with Maria Sharapova for a place in the final. Can Aga win the title???? Not entirely sure, she has the game and the finesse but she lacks the raw power of the big hitters, so I'd have to say she might make the semis or even the final, but I don't quite see her winning, but you never know, this might yet still be her year. (Pic of Aga holding her Sydney Apia International trophy this year).
Other seeds I will quickly mention are....
Sam Stosur
Sam made a shock first round exit last year in Melbourne, but she will hope to turn it around this year and here's hoping she does, as it would be a great pity for her to go out early on again. But Stosur does have a tough draw in front of her as she will face a few potential opponents from the East, starting with Chang Kai-chen, who defeated Stosur last year in Osaka. Then Stosur could face the Chinese player, Zheng Jie, who could prove to be really dangerous as well, as well as Li Na as a possible fourth round opponent, and Ana Ivanovic and Agnieszka Radwanska as possible quarter finalists, so its a tough draw, but you never know. Which means she could have a possible showdown with Maria Sharapova in the semis, and it would be a US Open final re-match with Serena. Sam has the weapons to down Serena as she showed in their final, but she lacks the overall confidence to keep winning in the big matches. But we shall see, anyway let's hope Sam survives the first round and that will hopefully give her some confidence to keep going.
Caroline Wozniacki
The former world no.1, has arguably an even tougher draw ahead of her as she will face Sabine Lisicki from Germany, in her first round match, which will prove to be a real test. Caroline could then face Sara Errani as a possible 4th round opponent and a possible mouth watering clash with Victoria Azarenka in the quarter finals. Caroline could then have a possible semi final battle with Serena, and it would be a final most likely with Mara Sharapova. So it will be a real uphill battle for Caroline but let's hope she can get to the quarters at least, but I can't see her negotiating her way past the big hitters, especially Maria and Serena, it will be tough no doubt, but stranger things have happened. However with Caroline she will just have to take it one match at a time, and Lisicki will be a really tough first hurdle to get by.
Li Na
And finally Li Na who has had an excellent start to the year so far, having won a title in China and reaching the semis in Sydney. Li Na is also a former finalist in Melbourne so she has had some great results here in the past, although Kim Clijsters stopped her in the last two years from advancing further, as Kim put her out in the 4th round last year. Li however also has a tough section too as she could be up against Sorana Cirstea or Roumania, Julia Goerges of Germany, and possibly Sam Stosur in the 4th round, and a possible quarter final with Agnieszka Radwanska, followed with Sharapova in the semis possibly, and either a Serena or Azarenka final. So its a tough one but Li has a big game, and on form she will be very dangerous, and she has a very good chance to go deep this year so we will see how it goes for her.
So now onto the men:
Novak Djokovic
Starting with the top dog, Nole has a potentially difficult draw ahead of him, and even though Melbourne has proved to be his tournament so far, there will be alot of work ahead of him in order to defend that title. For starters in his draw Novak will face the talented Frenchman, Paul Henri-Mathieu, but he should still get past him with fair ease. But as Nole's draw carries on it gets tougher as he could face Sam Querrey, who defeated him in Paris last year, as well as Stan Wawrinka, the Swiss No.2. Novak might also go on to face players such as Juan Monaco, Fernando Verdasco, and as strong possible quarter final opponent, Tomas Berdych, who if he plays really well, will be a big test. And in the semis Novak could be up against the dogged David Ferrer, although he did beat the Spaniard with relative ease in their last encounter at the US Open last year, but I'm sure the little beast will give him a real workout. And after this, Nole could set up a dream final with either Roger Federer or Andy Murray, with the latter being my preference and let's hope it is! Can Nole defend the title???? For sure. Will he??? Wait and see. All we can hope for is another great 5 set epic match between two out of the three best players in the world right now, and let's hope it is Nole and Andy, but I'd even still take Roger and Novak if it happens. (And in the pic here's Nole, rather aptly holding his 2012 trophy for his 3rd Australian Open title).
Roger Federer
Roger equally has a rather unkind draw and he may have to face one or two difficult opponents before he can get anywhere near that 5th Aussie Open title. For starters Roger may have to face Nikolai Davykeno early on as a possible 2nd round opponent, after that he could go on to Bernard Tomic, who has improved his game lately, although I don't see the Aussie toppling the GOAT. And one of Roger's toughest potential opponents could be the big Canadian Milos Raonic, with whom he has had some really tight close matches with, but he has come out on top in every one, just. As for a quarter final opponent Federer may have to the top two frenchmen, Richard Gasquet (No.2) or Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (No.1) and if he faces either of them in top form, then he could be in for a long night. And let's not forget Roger's semi final opponent could be some fella called Andy Murray, which could promise to be a real cracker. And if Andy is beaten by Del Potro enroute to the semis, then Roger could be looking at a semi final exit to the big Argentine, who poses a big threat to him, especially as Delpo has beaten him already in a major final. Which begs the question: can Roger win and reach the final???? Very possibly, as his Murray match will be 50/50, or 60/40, depending on who get's the lead. However I don't quite see Roger lifting the title, if Andy fails, Nole will succeed I think. But you can never write Fed off and you never know how things will pan out. (That's a pic of Roger holding his 7th Wimbleon title aloft).
Andy Murray
So onto the British No.1, Andy Murray (OBE). Andy actually hasn't got too bad a section leading up before the quarter finals. However his first round opponent could prove to be a real test, as he will face the Dutch player, Robin Haase, who very nearly took out Andy at the US Open two years ago, in a very close 5 set battle. However Andy is a different and much better player now than he was then, so I think he will get past Haase in 4 sets tops. As for the rest of his draw, its looking not too torturous for the next few rounds as he could face the likes of Gilles Simon, whom he has a great record against (beaten only once), Gael Monfils who could prove tricky, but should be beatable, and also Alexandr Dolgopolov, who despite their first tight meeting at Melbourne two years ago, Andy has beaten him with ease since, but he could still pose a threat. However things get way tougher at the quarter finals when Andy could confront Juan Martin Del Potro, who with his big serve and monster forehand could cause big problems for him, but he does have a good head to head against Delpo so hopefully he can use that. And in the semis its a possible showdown against Roger Federer, and well that one depends purely on how well he plays on the night (well he needs to find his first serve for starters!). So if its a tantalising final with Andy and Nole, can Andy beat in their 3rd possible major final again???? Yes he can, but it will be exceptionally tough for him to dethrone Nole, and if he is to do it, hopefully it will be another epic match, so time will reveall all! (the picture is of course Andy with his US Open trophy from last year, looking suitably chuffed at the press conference).
As for some of the other men's seeds we have.....
David Ferrer
David Ferrer, the fourth seed in Melbourne, who is on the verge of overtaking an absent Rafa in the rankings, has just triumphed in Auckland for his 4th title there, and he already has a very impressive tally of 19 titles to his name, and his game seems to be improving all the time. Ferrer has quite a tough draw ahead of him though, as he will player Olivier Rochus in the 1st round and could encounter big Ivo Karlovich in the 2nd, and to follow Ferrer could also be up against Marcos Baghdatis in the 3rd round and Kei Nishikori in the 4th. And we could have a US Open quarter final re-match in the quarters with Ferrer possibly taking on Janko Tipsarevic, and its some fella by the name of Novak Djokovic in the semis (two Serbs for the price of one!). Ferrer for me however, despite being at the top of his game just now doesn't have the weapons to take down the big three so I think while he can go deep I don't think Ferrer will be taking the title, as his lack of experience in reaching the final stage of the slams is something that has always eluded him, but who knows?
Juan Martin Del Potro
The big 6ft 6 inch Argentine, who is already a former US Open champion, and he has a fairly tough draw also, as he might come up against the likes of Andreas Seppi of Italy and Marin Cilic of Croatia in his section as possible 3rd and 4th round opponents. Delpo would then face a titanic challenge in the quarters with a possible clash with Andy Murray, which could be a real belter, but we will have to wait and see, and if he wins, then it will be another match up with Roger Federer, which could work in Delpo's favour should he get there, given that he has won their last two meetings, suggesting Delpo has worked out how to get Federer's number. However Delpo while he might have a chance of reaching the final, I can't quite see him winning against Nole, who is by far the faster and more agile of the two of them, but time will tell and with one major title behind him, Delpo does know what it takes to win one.
Jo-Wilfried Tsonga
And finally I'll look at the former 2008 finalist in Melbourne, and French No.1, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, who has been a bit up and down of late, having recently worked with a new coach. However Tsonga has the game and the firepower to down anyone when he is on form, and if he were to play his absolute best he would a fairly strong chance of winning. However Tsonga has a tough draw as well, as he will play Michael Llorda, fellow Frenchman in the opening round, and possibly Thomas Bellucci of Brazil in the 3rd round, and in the 4th round maybe even his other native player, Richard Gasquet, who is creeping up on Tsonga, and will be looking to take his place as the French No.1. And in the quarter finals we could see Jo face off against Federer, which could promise to be a burnburner should he get that far. And if he beats Federer then that could be good news for Andy if they should meet in the semis. However Jo is as I said very up and down and depending on his frame of mind he might only get so far before he exits the tournament, as last year he went out to Kei Nishikori in the 4th round, but we'll see.
So I will leave it there, more updates will follow from me throughout the next two weeks of what promises to be one of the best Australian Open championships (hopefully!).
Bye for now!
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