Australian Open Men’s Preview

Next week sees the start of the Australian Open and it looks like there will be many contenders compared to previous years. This year’s tournament sees all top 100 men’s players as well as the top 98 woman’s players in the draw making it one of the strongest fields ever. Defending men’s champion Roger Federer is back looking to defend his title and claim a record 17th major while defending woman’s champion Serena Williams is out injured.

There are a number of men’s contenders for the 2011 title which will be sure to make it an interesting tournament.

Roger Federer

One of the big favourites has to be defending champion Roger Federer. He ended 2010 on a positive note by winning to ATP end of tour championships in London defeating world number one, Rafael Nadal. Last week he started the year off with victory in Doha defeating Nikolay Davydenko. With 16 majors under his belt he will be tough to beat in Melbourne.

Rafael Nadal

The current world number one Nadal will be looking to complete a career grand slam in Melbourne by holding all four majors at the same time. He’s a former Australian Open champion so he carries a lot of experience and confidence into the tournament. Last year was a great year for Nadal, winning the French Open, Wimbledon and the US Open. He will be looking to extend his lead at the top of the rankings due to the few points he has to defend this season.

Novak Djokovic

The consistent Serbian is another player with serious ambitions of winning this year’s title. The 2008 Australian Open champion had a good start to his 2011 season with Hopman Cup victories over Lleyton Hewitt, Andrey Golubev and Ruben Bemelmens. He had a strong season last year and still remains the world number three.

Andy Murrary

2010 runner up, Andy Murray, will be looking to go one step better this year by claiming his first Grand Slam title in Melbourne. The Scot lost a tight three-set match last year to Roger Federer, which included that mammoth third set tiebreaker. He’s got off to a good start this year by winning his all three Hopman Cup matches over John Isner, Nicholas Mahut and Potito Starace. Murray has shown that he has the game to match it with the world’s, best but it’s just going that one step better and winning a Grand Slam title that still alludes him.

Robin Soderling

Sweden’s Robin Soderling will be another player that will have to be taken seriously at this year’s tournament. The Swede continues to be a consistent player on the men’s tour and has already got a title to his name winning the Brisbane International, after defeating Andy Roddick in the final. He has proven to be a dangerous opponent in Grand Slams having caused his fair share of upsets. He has been a runner up at Rolland Garros the past two years and is still the only man to have been Nadal in Paris. He will be looking to go one step better and claim his first Grand Slam title in Melbourne.

Juan Martin Del Potro

Arguably, the biggest darkhorse at the Australian Open is Argentina’s Juan Martin Del Potro. The Argentinean had a great 2009 season, ending with a surprisefive-set win over Roger Federer to claim the US Open. Meanwhile, 2010 was a season to forget for Del Potro with a wrist injury keeping him sidelined for just about the entire season. After slipping in the rankings he will be looking to regain some form and break the prestigious top 10. Del Potro is great on the hardcourts and posses some of the most powerful ground strokes currently on the world tour. He hasn’t had the greatest pre-tournament results, but don’t right off the powerful Del Potro.

Lleyton Hewitt

This could be a pivotal year for the veteran Hewitt. Why? Simply because if things don’t go his way, he might leave the game, while if things do he might give his career one final boost. Hewitt’s aim is to get back into the top 10, but everyone is questioning his ability to produce. No doubt he has the heart and will power, those are his biggest attributes. But it will be winning those tough points against big opponents that will decide his fate. He beat Mikhail Youzney at Kooyong over night so he does have something left. This could be the best and last chance for the former world number one to finally take home his home grand slam.

Summary

There are many other quality players out there in the field, these are just the ones who stand out the most. Keep a keen eye on guys like Fernando Verdasco, Nikolay Davydenko, Gael Monfils and all the others as 2011 shapes up as one of the best Open’s ever.

As for me, I’m tipping the Swiss maestro Federer to defend his title in 2011.

So if you can, head down to Melbourne for what is always a great tournament, hope to see you there!

We’ve also seen huge support from various players toward the disastrous floods in Brisbane so try to help out those in need by making a donation. To find out more you can head to our Floods Appeal page (http://injurytime.net/backyard/injury-time-queensland-floods-appeal/).