Its January and it means its time for the first grandslam of the year, all the tennis giants will descend to Melbourne Park to battle it out for the Australian Open.
World no.1 Novak Djokovic will start off as the favorite to defend his crown. Djokovic had an unforgettable 2011 winning 3 grandslams and becoming world no.1 in the process, although he faded out towards the end of the year which was mostly due to injuries and fatigue he has got himself a good rest in the off period and will look to show everyone that 2011 was no fluke.
Rafael Nadal had a somewhat quiet year, winning only one grandslam( French open), but he finished the year on a high, winning the Davis Cup with Spain. Despite this, Nadal looked out of sorts in 2011 and was marred by injuries, he'll look to begin the year on a high and a win will be essential if he is to safeguard his no.2 ranking as he is taking a one month break at the end of the open.
Roger Federer won no grandslams last year, but ended the year with a record 6th ATP world tour finals title and showed everyone he still hasn't lost his touch. He was the only player to have beaten Djokovic in a grandslam last year, he has a win loss record of 59-8 at Melbourne Park and will look to continue this to claim his 5th title here.
Andy Murray has been in the shadows of the big 3, and has failed to show that he is champion material. 2012 will be an important year for him to establish his credentials as a serious grandslam contender, with many other players lurking on the fringes to break into the top 4.
Among'st the chasing pack, Jo Wilfried Tsonga and David Ferrer are the ones who can seriously challenge for the title too.
Milos Raonic is another player to look out for, the Canadian has risen from 153 to 25 in the ATP rankings and will look to show the big boys that he is one to reckon with.Kei Nishikori and Alexandr Dolgapolv will be other players to look out for.
The Open begins on the 16th of january!
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