2010 Australian Open: Predictions for Men and Women

2010 is promising to be quite a year for fans of tennis. Bolstered by a mixture of veteran champions and up-and-coming stars, the level of competition in professional tennis is as strong as ever. The 2010 Australian Open appears to be the perfect venue to showcase the increased competition. In this article, I will discuss what we should expect for the first grand slam of the year and offer my 2010 Australian Open predictions for both men and women.

1. Australian Open - Women's Singles
Prediction: Serena Williams wins (if injury-free); Clijsters, Henin play well

This year's Australian Open plays host to an impressive field of women's players. The first grand slam of the year will feature the always dominant Williams sisters, reemerging Belgian duo of Kim Clijsters and Justin Henin, and young stars in Yanina Wickmayer and Melanie Oudin.

There are numerous storylines for this year's Open. Serena Williams' impressive year in 2009 was marred by uncharacteristic misconduct in her U.S. Open semifinal match. Even though her notorious outburst was not the factor that cost her the match and championship, it has somewhat tainted her public image. Winning the first grand slam of 2010 will help repair her image and put the incident behind her. As the world's top ranked player, Williams still possesses some of the most lethal weapons in tennis. Additionally, Serena is the defending champion and has had very good successes at the Australian Open. If Williams manages to steer free of injuries, her chances are very good.

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Another great storyline for the 2010 Australian Open is the return of former #1s Justin Henin and Kim Clijsters. Clijsters has already proved that she belongs among the top players by winning last year's U.S. Open in dominant fashion. No one should be surprised if she makes another great run in this tournament. Justin Henin, on the other hand, remains a question mark. Henin certainly has the skills to compete with any of the top players. However, fitness was a problem when she was the top player in the world and remains a lingering question for the 2004 Australian Open champion. Compounded this with Australia's extreme heat and the fact that she has not played a competitive match for several years, Henin will be competitive but a victory here is very unlikely.

2. Australian Open - Men's Singles
Prediction: Federer wins; Murray and Djokovic are dark horses.

Defending champion Rafael Nadal's 2009 season was one of triumphs as well as disappointments. He managed to break Federer's heart once again by beating his chief rival in a thrilling 5-setter to win the 2009 Australian Open. He then went on to have a stellar first half, winning two Masters titles. Unfortunately, he would soon be plagued with major injuries which effectively derailed his first-half momentum. However, his time-off due to injuries might be a great blessing for Nadal as he had struggled both mentally and physically in the latter half of 2008. His recent strong plays in pre-Australian Open warm ups indicate that he has fully recovered from his injuries and is physically fresh. Nadal will undoubtedly be a very dangerous competitor at this year's Australian Open.

Roger Federer has been the best player in the world for nearly a decade now. He remains the biggest threat to win any tournament. Yet, there are signs that Federer is no longer as dominant as he was in the past. It used to be that Federer would dominate any match that does not involve Rafael Nadal. But recently, he has been increasingly challenged not just by his rival Nadal but others like Del Potro and Andy Murray. Roger will probably make it at least to the semifinal, but his path will be a lot tougher than usual.

The two dark horses in this tournament are likely to be Andy Murray and Novak Djokovic. Andy Murray is probably the best tennis player without a grand slam. He came to the 2009 Australian Open as the bookmaker's favorite, only to fail to meet the lofty expectations. Murray will not be the tournament favorite this time around; this will take away the unnecessary pressure and allow him to just play his game. Murray is poised to win his first grand slam and this may be the tournament.

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For Novak Djokovic, this year's Australian Open offers a chance for redemption. Despite big expectations, Djokovic had a mediocre 2009. The window of opportunities for the 2008 champion to win another major tournament is closing fast on him, with young stars like Murray and Del Potro emerging as strong contenders. As he has had great successes at the Open, this is probably his last real chance to reestablish himself as a major force in tennis.