2012 Australian Open Men’s Preview

Benjamin Parker January 15, 2012 0

2012 Australian Open Men’s Preview

The 2012 Australian Open starts on Sunday January 15 at 6:30 PM ET in the US and on Monday January 16 at 10:30 AM Australia Time.

This tournament promises to be one of excitement, intrigue, and intensity. What I will do in this article, is break down the Men’s draw, cast my final predictions for who comes out victorious, as well as point out some exciting/interesting players to look for even if they don’t win it all.
Starting with the Men, you have none other than Novak Djokovic himself, the #1 ranked player in the world. He won the Australian Open last year as well as Wimbledon and the Us Open. Last season, an aura of invincibility surrounded him, and everybody just knew he was going to win. 2011 was Novak Djokovic’s year. But now the year is 2012, and a new season is underway. The main thing to look for in Djokovic isn’t just whether or not he wins the Australian Open, but whether or not he is going to play to the same level as he did last season. He had a rocky end to the 2011 tennis season. After winning the US Open, he failed to win any tournaments in Asia, which featured the Shanghai Rolex Masters, and other premier tournaments.
He pulled out of several tournaments with various injuries, and really seemed to lose a lot of the momentum that he had built up after winning the US Open. He was the best player from January through September. But in October, November, and December Djokovic disappeared, and even failed to make a decent showing at the ATP World Tour Finals in London, which ended in November. To the untrained eye, or to one who doesn’t follow tennis outside the majors, Djokovic is the no-brainer pick to win. He’s coming off two straight major titles, he won the US Open which also is played on the hard court, etc. But to one who follows tennis year round, those last 3 months of the 2011 season raise a lot of questions about Novak Djokovic. Is he healthy? Is he rusty? Is he still exhausted from the blistering pace he kept at in 2011? All these questions will be answered in this 2012 Australian Open, and it will be interesting to find out the answers to these questions.
The next guy who is of major importance is Rafael Nadal. Nadal is coming off of a very questionable season in 2012. The only bright spot of 2011 for Rafael Nadal was winning the French Open. Winning the French Open is something that we are all used to seeing Rafael Nadal do. But it’s something we shouldn’t take for granted. Nadal is getting old in tennis years, and his knees are beyond banged up. Still, Nadal is a contender in this tournament. He’s won the Australian Open before, he has improved his hard court game since he was a kid, and with a banged up Djokovic, it’s possible that Nadal swoops in and wins the title.
The third guy I’m going to mention is the greatest tennis player of all time, but is currently ranked #3 in the world. This would be none other than Roger Federer. He has won 16 Grand Slam singles titles and has been ranked #1 in the world for 285 weeks of his career and 237 consecutive weeks. The guy owned the tennis world for a span of 5+ years. But now he’s 30, and he’s turning 31 in August. He hasn’t won a major since the 2010 Australian Open. Does he have one more major title up his sleeve? That is the main question with Roger Federer. Does he have another major title in him? I think he does, and I think he has a great shot of winning this year’s Aussie Open. Here’s why: Roger Federer finished the 2011 season the strongest of anybody on tour. He won the ATP World Tour Finals in November (which is a round robin tournament featuring the top 8 singles players and top 8 doubles teams. The WTA does the same thing for the women as well). He dominated that, and he also won the BNP Paribas tournament the week before. The only concern to have right now is he did pull put of the ExxonMobil Open in Doha,Qatar with back spasms. But that was just merely precaution. Overall, Fed finished the 2011 season on a very strong note, and it’s going to be interesting to see if he carries that momentum with him into this Australian Open.
The fourth guy that I must mention in detail is Andy Murray. The fourth ranked tennis player in the world, and dubbed by many to breakthrough and win a major in 2012. Andy Murray has recently hired Ivan Lendl as his new coach, and the theory behind it is that Lendl can teach Andy Murray how to mentally win a major. Lendl has won 8 grand slams in his career, and is a former world #1. The biggest question mark surrounding Andy Murray is whether or not Lendl actually helps him win a major. I don’t think he will help Andy Murray to win a major, but I could be wrong.
After these four premier guys, there are some other names you need to make a note of. You have David Ferrer of Spain: He’s #5 in the world, and had a very good year in 2011. The problem is, he is in the shadow of Rafael Nadal, Spain’s greatest player ever. But don’t be surprised to see Ferrer make some noise. I expect him to get to the Quarterfinals and lose to Novak Djokovic.
Juan Martin Del Potro ranked #11 in the world has recently won a major. He won the 2009 US Open against Roger Federer, and finished strong in 2011, nearly missing the ATP World Tour Finals. Look for a very entertaining matchup between Juan Martin Del Potro and Mardy Fish in the round of 16, who is ranked #8 in the world. If you want to see a good match turn on Del Potro and Fish. That will be a fun match to watch.
Another guy I have my eye on is Alexandr Dolgopolov, ranked #13 in the world. This kid gave Novak Djokovic fits in the US Open, and should have beaten Djokovic had he had more confidence. He plays a very tricky style of tennis, lots of spins, and weird shots that can throw people off their game. But he’s also a kid who was dubbed by many as a tennis prodigy, and he’s finally showing why. Expect Dolgopolov to play Roger Federer in the round of 16, and if he wins a set of Roger Federer, it will be interesting to see how his past his experience with Djokovic helps him out. Maybe if he gets a chance to close out Federer, he will actually do it.
The true dark horse in this tournament, is Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, who is ranked #6 in the World. He’s been to a major final, and proven he can hang and beat the top 3 players. He has what it takes to win a major title, and I think people should be asking themselves when will Tsonga breakthrough instead of Andy Murray. He’s got a great serve and volley game backed with good ground strokes. Look for Tsonga to be a force in this years Australian Open and possibly win it ( I have Tsonga in the semi-finals).
Other players to keep an eye on are #26 ranked Kei Nishikori of Japan. He’s really risen up in the rankings, and has bubbled up from the realms of potentiality into actuality. This kid is good, and he’s going to be a contender in many majors to come. Will he win the Aussie Open this year? No, but he could still make some noise. Expect an exciting match between Nishikori and #14 Gilles Simon.
Also, look out for #15 Gael Monfils of France. One of the most athletic players on tour, and very entertaining to watch. Will he win? No, but he’s got a lot of flair to his game and he’ll go out swinging. #16 Andy Roddick is another guy to look for. He’s a former US Open champ and still feels the need to prove himself. Look for Roddick to reach the fourth round before Novak Djokovic beats him. But he benefited from an easy draw in the US Open in 2011, and maybe he does again here in Australia.
#7 Thomas Berdych is another guy to look out for, he’s beaten Federer in a major, and he’s showing tremendous signs of growth as well. Don’t be stunned if you see him in the semi finals or even finals. In addition to all of these guys, Americans can follow fellow countrymen John Isner, Sam Querrey, Ryan Harrison, and Donald Young. All 4 guys look to improve in this years Aussie Open. Especially Isner, who is ranked #17 in the world right behind Andy Roddick. Isner has a big serve, and is getting better every season. I have a feeling he’s gonna breakthrough to a Quarterfinal of a major, but I don’t see it happening just yet. But you never know, maybe this will be the tournament that is his coming out party. As for natives of Australia, Lleyton Hewitt and Bernard Tomic headline the Aussies. Hewitt is a former world #1 and 2 time major champion having won the US Open and Wimbledon. He isn’t winning any more majors, but it should be fun to see how the Aussie home crowd pushes him. As for Tomic, he still has a lot to prove. He’s a young kid, who has been criticized for not taking his game more seriously and not working hard. How he responds to the criticism will be fun to see. I have Tomic winning 2 matches, before getting whopped by Dolgopolov and I also have Donald Young of the USA proving himself more, and winning 2 matches as well, including a match over wily veteran Ivan Ljubicic. But the road will certainly stop for Young once/if he beats Ljubicic, because his next opponent will be Rafael Nadal.
In closing, I would first off like to say that this year’s Australian Open has plenty of great players in it, and many interesting things to watch for. But at the end of the day, everybody most cares about one thing, which is who comes out victorious. I’m here to tell you that it will be Roger Federer over Novak Djokovic in the final. Federer is coming in healthier than Djokovic, and coming in with more momentum than Novak Djokovic. He won the BNP Paribas and the ATP World Tour Finals in November, and he is on a roll. He has no better shot to win a major than right here and right now with Djokovic coming in a bit rusty and banged up. It’s going to be an exciting and thrilling 5 set match in the final, with Roger Federer once again atop the tennis world.