Australian Open 14 - 27 January 2013

The first grand slam of the year kicks off on the 14th of January 2013 with the usual thrills of aces, baseline strokes, cross court maneuvers, winners and the likes. Conspicuously absent is Rafael Nadal due to injury and fitness challenges. Since he was a finalist in 2012 he will lose 1200 points for not participating and also drop out of the top 4, giving perennial outsider David Ferrer his best chance to step up to a top 4 finish.

It also promises to give fans some adrenaline rush as Andy Murray will prove to the tennis community if winning the US Open last term was a ‘title aspiration’ warning or just a mere stroke of luck. Retaining the Brisbane International title a week ago looks like a step in the right direction for the Scott.

World No. 1 and ATP World Tour Player of the Year 2012, Novak Djokovic, who won an impressive tally of 2 Grand Slams in 2012, chose the Hopman Cup as his tune-up tonic for the Aussie Open. He will fancy his chances of trying to win a 4th career Australian Open with his most combative rival Swiss Maestro Roger Federer, and arguably the best tennis player of all time, lurking to pounce on another of his favorite Grand Slams. Though he has been quiet in 2013, FedEx as he is popularly called will rise up to the occasion and will thrill us with his ingenuity and artistry.

The ascendancy of Serena Williams in late 2012 should not be overlooked. The powerful American started her rise to ascendancy from an early 2012 of obscurity, starting with the Wimbledon title win over Agnieszka Radwańska for her 14th grand slam singles title in midyear 2012 and reaching her 5th WTA Championships Finals by beating Agnieszka Radwańska again; she defeated No.2 seed Maria Sharapova to win her 3rd WTA Championships Finals and her 7th title in 2012. Seeded 3 for her first tournament of 2013, Serena won the Brisbane International tournament without dropping a set and beating Russia’s Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova. She will compete in both the Single and Doubles event, with sister Venus Williams at the Australian Open.

Female World No.1 and Belarusian, Victoria Azarenka, still smarting from five losses to Serena Williams in 2012 but having an enviable tally of three grand slams in 2012 would need to prove a point whenever the draws bring her against Serena Williams. They will both meet for a place in the finals if they both advance to the semifinals.

You would expect hard grunter Russian Maria Sharapova to use this tournament to prove she is no second fiddle as she tries to regain the superb form that saw her ascend to World No. 1 in 2005. Polish Agnieszka Radwańska; German Angelique Kerber; home girl Samantha Stosur; hard-fighting Italian Sara Errani and perennial underachiever, Danish Caroline Wozniacki will spice up the tournament over the next two weeks.