The first Grand Slam event of 2011 began Sunday evening on the hard courts of Melbourne Park, Australia. While you’re shivering in front of your TV and watching the temperatures at centre court rise as the mercury in your apartment plummets, check out some of our picks for the men’s and women’s brackets.
Without question, the biggest story of the tournament is Rafael Nadal’s bid for a fourth straight Grand Slam win. Nadal, who won the Australian Open in 2009, was forced to retire last year in his quarterfinal match against Andy Murray because of tendinitis in his knee. Twenty-four-year-old Nadal, who has nine Grand Slam trophies to his name, made an incredible comeback in 2010, winning the French Open, Wimbledon, and the U.S. Open. He will now try to become the first man since Rod Laver in 1969 to win four majors in a row.
Roger Federer, regarded by many as the favourite, will try to stop the Spaniard. He proved that he’s capable by defeating Rafa at the Barclays ATP World Tour Final on November 28; he also won three majors in a row in 2006 and 2007 but was thwarted in his attempt for a fourth on both occasions by Nadal at the French Open. Can Roger repay the favour in Melbourne?
Finally, don’t forget about veteran Andy Roddick. Still possessing one of the most powerful serves in the game, the former world number one is now 28 years old and knows he doesn’t have much time left to capture a second Grand Slam title.
Prediction: Nadal over Federer in the final
Sleeper: Andy Roddick
On the women’s side, defending champion Serena Williams is sidelined with a foot injury and won’t be able to defend her title. In Serena’s absence, Kim Clijsters is the favourite to capture her first Australian Open.
Two other players to watch are Francesca Schiavone, who won her first Grand Slam at Roland Garros in 2010 at the age of 27, and the woman that Schiavone beat in Paris, homegrown talent Samantha Stosur. Stosur is the best hope for Australia on the men’s or women’s side. She broke the top five in the WTA rankings July and is sure to get raucous support at Melbourne Park.
Caroline Wozniacki, who finished 2010 as world number one, has never won a Grand Slam tournament but has been excellent on the WTA tour. Wozniacki has never beaten Clijsters, Henin, or either of the Williams sisters. She was runner-up at the 2009 U.S. Open and reached the 2010 year-end WTA Tour Championships where she lost to Clijsters in a compelling final. She may yet get another crack at Clijsters in Melbourne to prove her number one ranking is merited.
Maria Sharapova has an outside shot to return to her former winning ways. She missed significant action due to injury in late 2008 and early 2009, and hasn’t been the same since. If Sharapova is to get through her bracket she will need to get through 31-year-old Venus Williams and 21-year-old talent Viktoria Azarenka.
Azarenka has never made it past the quarterfinals of any Grand Slam event, but may benefit from a relatively weak bracket to go on and challenge Wozniacki in the semi-finals.
Prediction: Wozniacki over Clijsters in the final
Sleeper: Viktoria Azarenka
