2014 Australian Open: a preview

The Happy Slam is coming back for its 102nd edition on the 13th of January, promising a fortnight of excellence to kick off the 2014 Grand Slam season. 2013 was an exciting season on both the men’s and women’s tours, and it will be very interesting to see what happens in Melbourne this year.

On the men’s side, three-time defending champion Novak Djokovic comes in as heavy favourite. Despite winning just the lone Slam last year, he has gone undefeated since losing the final of the US Open, picking up four titles along the way, including the year ending World Tour Finals. In the process, he has twice defeated arch-rival Rafael Nadal. Although he has not played yet this year, choosing to go straight to Australia to practice, it is difficult to imagine him losing.

His biggest threat is Nadal. After a stellar – yet incomplete – 2013 that saw him include the French Open and the US Open among his 10 titles, the Spaniard stands a good chance to add to his 2009 success here. He has already scooped up a win in Doha to start his season. There is the additional fact that his losses to Djokovic last year came on indoor courts; he was undefeated on outdoor hard courts until after the US Open and conditions in Melbourne favour his topspin-heavy style of play.

Wimbledon champion Andy Murray is back but his early loss in Qatar seems to indicate he has not fully recovered from his back surgery yet. Roger Federer is seemingly a spent force these days and is coming to the Australian Open on his lowest ranking since 2003. With these two looking vulnerable, the likes of 2009 US Open champion Juan Martin del Potro, former Slam runners-up David Ferrer, Jo Wilfried Tsonga and David Berdych, and former semifinalists Richard Gasquet and Stanislas Wawrinka, could all make deep runs. However, expect another chapter in the Nadal-Djokovic rivalry to take Rod Laver Arena by storm come finals Sunday.

On the women’s side, the two-time defending champion is Victoria Azarenka, who started 2014 with a runner-up performance in Brisbane. Unfortunately for her, Serena Williams is ostensibly at her imperious best, having won at Roland Garros and Flushing Meadows last year and going undefeated since Cincinnati in August. This includes the title at Brisbane this year, where she took out Azarenka and the only other player apart from herself to have won a Career Grand Slam, Maria Sharapova. Sharapova is usually a threat at Slams, but having just recovered from a shoulder injury – and having lost to Williams for the 14th consecutive time – it looks unlikely that the Russian will win that elusive fifth Slam. Li Na started this year with a title defence in Shenzen, which she followed with a run to the final in Melbourne last year, so she could be another contender for the title. In any case, these four are the likeliest to make the semifinals, their 1-4 rankings ensuring they will not play each other before then.

Expect another chapter in the Nadal-Djokovic rivalry to take Rod Laver Arena by storm come finals Sunday

Vera Zvonareva is making her much awaited comeback, while former Slam champions and runners-up Agnieska Radwanska, Petra Kvitova, Ana Ivanovic, Caroline Wozniacki and Jelena Jankovic should make for an exciting tournament. There are also young guns like Sloane Stephens and Sorana Cirstea on the threshold of the top 10. If anything, they probably stand the best chance of upsetting Williams, who has lost to low-ranked players each of the past two years. However, she was carrying injuries each time. This year, she seems fully fit and ready to take home the trophy that would equal the Grand Slam tally of Martina Navratilova and Chris Evert.

Home hopes Bernard Tomic and Samantha Stosur are unlikely to make much of an impact, though Lleyton Hewitt’s recent win in Brisbane probably makes him the crowd favourite. Defending doubles champions the Bryan brothers (men’s) and the Italian duo of Sara Errani and Roberta Vinci (women’s) are the favourites there. The Williams sisters are planning on adding another trophy to their cabinet but Venus might be beyond her prime. The mixed event, as always, remains the most unpredictable.

Whatever happens, we can expect a tournament of surprises, thrilling encounters and a confirmation that tennis is currently in a healthy state.