The Australian Open are about to start and I want to give you guys a quick preview as well as my predictions! The Aussie Open is a fun tournament with a very unique atmosphere that a lot of the players love. The players are also fresh and the combination of this usually leads to some really high level Tennis!
The Aussie Open – A Fun Event With Great Tennis!
Allright so now let’s have a look at the men’s and the women’s game and my favourites to win the title!
The Men’s Game
In the men’s game everyone is curious to see what kind of form Djokovic, Nadal, and Federer are showing up in. These three guys have won almost all of the Grand Slam titles over the past couple of years!
Novak Djokovic
Novak Djokovic is the clear favourite to win the tournament in my opinion! He dominated last season until struggling with some injury issues late in the year.
He played in the warm-up event in Abu Dhabi and looked very strong and fit. I expect him to continue playing at a similar level to last year, which should make things really tough for his opponents!
Prediction: I think Djokovic will show up playing very well and has the best chance to win this year’s Australian Open!
Djokovic dominated David Ferrer in the finals of the Abu Dhabi Invitational!
Roger Federer
Roger Federer’s form is tough to judge at the moment. He played extremely well at the end of last year, ending the year with a 17-match winning streak. Nevertheless that was indoors and also his main rivals, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic, were not at the top of their game at that time.
The key for Roger in my opinion is how well he can hit the one-handed backhand. He struggled with it quite often last year and Djokovic or Nadal in top form should have an edge over Roger if his backhand is not at its best!
Prediction: Federer has a good draw. The two other dangerous players in his quarter are Mardy Fish and Juan-Martin Del Potro and I would be surprised if he lost to them. Therefore I see Roger making it to the semi-finals but I would expect him to loose to Nadal should Rafa get there!
Rafael Nadal
Nadal’s form is also very tough to predict. He played well in the warm-up event in Abu Dhabi and it looked like he was hitting his backhand with confidence again, which is something he didn’t do late in 2011.
Nevertheless, it is unclear how well his body is holding up and he even mentioned some mental fatigue and motivational problems in an interview, which is obviously very unusual for Rafael Nadal.
Prediction: I think Nadal has a good draw and I don’t really see anybody challenging him too much in his quarter. Therefore, I expect him to get through to the semi-finals where he should face Roger Federer, which is a match I would expect him to win. I don’t think he will win the finals against Djokovic though if it gets to that match!
Nadal Looking Fit In Practice At the Aussie Open
Andy Murray
Murray recently hired Ivan Lendl as his coach and has been playing really well so far this year. Hiring Lendl was definitely a good move on Murray’s part. It was time to change his approach a little bit since he always played well but not quite well enough to win a major.
Lendl is someone with a lot of achievements obviously and primarily someone that Murray will have a lot of respect for. Nevertheless, I think forMurray to win a Grand Slam would require him to play significantly more aggressive and I doubt that will happen at this years Australian Open!
Prediction: Murray will show up in strong form but I think he will either go out against the hard-hitting Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the quarterfinals or against Novak Djokovic in the semi-finals!
More In-Form Players
There are a few other players that I believe could do really well in the Australian Open!
Jo-Wilfried Tsonga is the first one I would like to mention. He has a huge game which makes him a real threat to any opponent on any given day. It appears that he has matured a bit and gotten mentally stronger. As a result I wouldn’t be surprised if he beats Murray in the quarterfinals and gets to the semi-finals!
Tsonga Won The Tournament In Dubai In Convincing Fashion!
I am also curious to see how well Mardy Fish is playing. He played extremely well in 2011 and I expect him to play at least as well in 2011. He would run into Roger in the quarters, which should be an exciting match-up, since both of these guys can play all over the court!
Two upcoming players should also be interesting to watch. Australian Bernard Tomic seems to be ready to mix it up with the world’s best by now, which he showed by winning the Kooyong Invitational tournament. He has a tough first-round opponent in Fernando Verdasco though!
The other upcoming player that also seems to be in strong form is Milos Raonic. The big-serving and hard-hitting Canadian won his first tournament of 2012 Chennai,India without losing his serve once in the tournament! The last player to win a tournament without losing serve was Roger Federer in 2008!
Unfortunately for Raonic, he ended up in Novak Djokovic’s quarter and would face the world number 1 in the round of 16. I don’t think he is quite ready to beat someone like Djokovic in a Grand Slam but I am sure he will show up as a real challenge!
The Women’s Game
The situation in the women’s game is quite different. The field seems to be wide open and a lot more players have a real chance to win the trophy in my opinion!
Let’s have a look at some of the players that I believe have the best chance to win the Australian Open!
Serena Williams
The American superstar caused quite a bit of controversy again a few weeks ago when she said that she doesn’t love to play Tennis and doesn’t really enjoy athletic activities in general!
Now that is quite a statement from Serena but I wouldn’t take it too serious. In fact, I heard some coaches and experts talk about how hard Serena is preparing for the tournament and that she looks in great shape out on the practice court!
Prediction: Serena has not competed in quite a while but if she gets through the first couple of rounds and feels healthy then she is one of my favourites to win the tournament!
Check Out Serena Practicing At The Aussie Open!
Kim Clijsters
Clijsters is coming back from injuries that have kept her out of the game since August of last year. She struggled a lot and in a recent interview she mentioned that at times she thought that she would be forced to retire once again. The fact that she is back shows me that she still wants it just as much as in the past.
She was forced to withdraw from the semi-finals of the Brisbane warm-up tournament once again with a hip injury. She is cleared to play the Australian Open though and I really hope that she can play the tournament without any injury troubles!
Prediction: If she is close to 100% physically then I see her as one of the favourites to win the title!
Petra Kvitova
The hard-hitting Czech had her breakthrough last year when she won Wimbledon in dominating fashion. Her game is huge and now that she has the belief that she belongs among the world’s best the sky is the limit for her in my opinion!
She has a good draw that should allow her to get through to the semi-finals, where she would face either Sharapova or Serena Williams!
Prediction: Kvitova is definitely one of the favourites to win the title!
Maria Sharapova
Sharapova came close to winning another Grand Slam tournament last year. She seems to work well with her coach Thomas Hogstedt but for her it all comes down to whether or not she can get her serve going!
Ever since her shoulder injuries she has struggled with the serve and the motion is not as fluid as it used to be early on in her career.
Prediction: Sharapova is a contender as well but only if she serves well!
Victoria Azarenka
Azarenka won the warm-up tournament in Sydney playing some very good Tennis against an in-form Li Na in the finals.
Azarenka has a solid game but it seems to me that she still lacks another gear that is necessary to win a Grand Slam tournament!
Nevertheless she is in great shape and it will take someone to play really well to take her out of the tournament!
Azarenka Beat Li Na To Win The Sydney Title!
Caroline Wozniacki
It appears that Wozniacki realized late in 2011 that she needs to make some slight adjustments to her game in order to win a Grand Slam title. As a result she hired Ricardo Sanchez as her new coach to replace her father.
Even though she is the number 1 player in the world, her game needs to be a bit more dangerous in certain situations in order to beat the other players when they are at their best in the Grand Slams. Therefore, I believe hiring a new coach was a good move!
Of course it is still unclear what kind of an influence he will have and how they are trying to develop her game.
As a result I am really unsure about how well Wozniacki will play at this years Australian Open. Therefore, I have no real prediction for her in this tournament
Allright. So much for my Australian Open Preview!
There are of course many other players that I did not talk about that could do well in the tournament but I had to put an end to this article somewhere. Please let me know your comments below and tell me who else you think will do well in the tournament!
Hopefully we will get to see lots of exciting matches this year!
