Top Ten: Men’s players to watch at the Australian Open

2013 hasn’t long begun and already one of tennis’ most coveted tournaments will be decided at the end of this month, as the Australian Open takes place.

With the first Grand Slam of the sport being held at Melbourne Park, the men’s game continues to prosper.

2012 was a vintage year that saw the world’s top four ranked players win the four different Grand Slams.

The Australian Open last year was won by Novak Djokovic in a pulsating five-set thriller against Rafael Nadal. The final set a new record as the longest Grand Slam decider ever – lasting five hours and 53 minutes.

Sadly for tennis fans around the globe, world number four, Nadal has had to withdraw from the competition due to a stomach virus. Nevertheless the 101st edition of the tournament look set to be another fascinating and exciting one.

Here are our top 10 players to look out for during the next fortnight.

10. Lleyton Hewitt (AUS) – Unseeded

The 31-year-old Australian is the obvious home favourite. For so long the face of Australian tennis, Hewitt will go down in history as one of the greats of recent times. At the age of 20 he became the youngest male ever to be ranked World No. 1. A multiple Grand Slam winner, Hewitt has won three majors. If it wasn’t for the brilliance of Roger Federer, he surely would have won more.

A 2005 runner-up to Marat Safin, at the tournament he would so dearly love to win, the chances of Hewitt repeating this fate are very slim. Ranked 82 in the world now, he will fancy his chances though against 8th seed Janko Tipsarevic in the first round. The epitome of a competitor, and in front of a vociferous home support, if the Australian could cause an upset then a potential deep run is on the cards which could see him meet David Ferrer in the quarter-finals.

9. Jerzy Janowicz (POL) – Seeded: 24

Janowicz had a fantastic 2012 that has cemented his status as ‘one to watch’ for 2013. The 22-year-old started 2012 ranked World No. 221 yet finished it as World No. 26. His most remarkable run to date was his efforts at last November’s Paris Masters event. There he beat five of the world’s top 20 players, including Andy Murray, on his way to reaching the final. Doing so made him the first unseeded player to reach an ATP 1000 event since his compatriot Andrei Pavel in 2003.

At 6ft 8”, the Pole has a devastating serve and likes to blast his opponents off the court. Add that to his explosive forehand, and his willingness to volley and drop shot, he will prove to be a dangerous opponent as he looks to improve on a successful last term.

8. Kei Nishikori (JAP) – Seeded: 16

Most tennis players have the hope of a nation on their shoulders to deal with; with Kei Nishikori he has that as well as his continent’s. The 23-year-old’s Japan Open win last October, not only affirmed his status as a top player, it also showed that he could deal with expectation when placed upon him. With the Australian Open being the showpiece tournament for the Asia/Pacific region, there will be some who hope that he can repeat his Japan Open exploits on the biggest stage.

A swashbuckling player, who can mix it with the ‘big-boys’ of tennis, he already has a three-year plan in place to win a Grand Slam, while his next goal is to break into the top 10.  Struggling at the moment with an injury, if he can overcome that then there’s every chance he could at least repeat last year’s run of reaching the quarter-finals of the competition.

7. Milos Raonic (CAN) – Seeded 13

Despite being dealt on the tougher side of the draw with Roger Federer, Andy Murray and Juan Martin Del Potro, everyone will be wary of the threat that the 23-year-old Canadian possesses. Raonic has one of the most devastating serves in the game – in 2012 he served more aces per match and won a higher percentage of service games than any other player on the ATP tour, for example.

Playing on the hard courts of the Australian Open will suit him perfectly as he can look to use his power to blast opponents away. His 2013 campaign hasn’t started too brightly, with a win-loss ratio of 1-3 at present, but regardless of that he is a very dangerous opponent for anyone he meets.

6. Tomas Berdych (CZE) – Seeded 5

A former Grand Slam finalist, Berdych possesses all the necessary skills to go one step further and win a major. In the past he has been susceptible to clear mental lapses during games, but this is something he has worked on to improve – with the evidence clear in that he has become a consistent figure amongst the world top 10 rankings.

The physical exploits of the Australian Open are very demanding and it is very useful if you have skills to help you combat that. The 27-year-old has that with his devastating forehand being one of those. A quarter-finalist here last year, when on-song he can blow away anyone.

5. David Ferrer (ESP) – Seeded 4

David Ferrer is the model of consistency. The 30-year-old Spaniard had a memorable 2012 winning 76 matches and losing just 15 in total. Known as ‘The Wall’ he is one of the most dogged and fit players on the tour. His love for baseline rallies, allied with his agility, make him a nightmare against opponents as he can grind them down with his persistent groundstrokes. Although one of the smaller guys out there, at just 5ft 9”, his speed around the court enables him to recover most situations.

With no compatriot Rafael Nadal in the mix, Ferrer is the leading Spaniard in the draw. A semi-finalist here in 2011, his seeding means he is expected to at least reach the same stage again. Don’t be surprised if he does. Having just won the Auckland Open, for a record-equalling fourth-time, he’s in good form.

4. Juan Martin Del Potro (ARG) – Seeded 6

At 24, Del Potro has experienced the highs and lows of the sport. In 2008, at just 20 years of age, he became the first player in ATP history to win his first four career titles in as many tournaments. A year later the Argentine then captured his first Grand Slam title at the US Open, defeating Nadal in the semi-final and Roger Federer in the final thus becoming the first man ever to defeat them both in the same Grand Slam tournament.

The subsequent years have seen, ‘Delpo’ been plagued by injuries – most notably a wrist problem that saw him miss nine months of the 2010 season. Slowly and surely though, Del Potro has regained form and fitness. 2012 saw him become bronze medallist at the 2012 London Olympics men’s singles and end the year as the World No. 7.

Being the only man since 2005 to win a Grand Slam outside ‘the Big Four’, he knows what it takes to win a major. An offensive baseliner with a powerful serve to match, he is many dark horses favourite for the Australian Open.

3. Roger Federer (SUI) – Seeded 2

What more can you say about Roger Federer that already hasn’t been said? The list of superlatives, to describe the 31-year-old, have all been repeated through his years of dominance. The fact that he has won 17 Grand Slams speaks for itself.

Unquestionably the king of tennis, some remarkably doubted whether or not his powers of brilliance were waning before last season began. Having not won a major since the 2010 Australian Open, some were questioning whether or not Federer was ‘past it’ as the relentless games of Nadal and Novak Djokovic started to prove fruitful against him. Those doubts have since been quashed though.

Winning Wimbledon, and with that regaining his world number one ranking – although not anymore, proved that Federer still has what it takes to win and compete at the top. The Swiss genius has altered his game somewhat to combat the styles of Nadal, Djokovic and Andy Murray and it has proved beneficial. Despite the effect the soaring temperatures may have on his ‘ageing’ body, write the former four-time winner off at your peril.

2. Andy Murray (GBR) – Seeded 3

What a year 2012 was for Britain’s Andy Murray. The 25-year-old started the campaign with a gutsy and captivating five-set Australian Open semi-final defeat to Novak Djokovic, which lasted four hours and 50 minutes. A quarter-final exit at the French Open wasn’t too great a shock, but his mesmeric run to the Wimbledon final led many to believe and hope that he was finally going to become the first British male Grand Slam winner since Fred Perry in 1936. Alas though sadly for Murray, this wasn’t to be the case as he lost in four sets to Roger Federer.

Following on from this defeat, Murray’s season continued to improve. Winning Olympic gold just weeks after losing Wimbledon, proved too many that the Brit had what it takes to win on the grandest of occasions – and so he demonstrated with his US Open triumph. His pulsating five-set marathon win at Flushing Meadows against Djokovic encapsulated years of hard work and training and truly cemented his place alongside ‘the Big Three’ to make it ‘the Big Four’.

Appointing, former eight-time Grand Slam winner, Ivan Lendl has without doubt been a major catalyst to the success of Murray. The pair get along together and share similar traits which has aided the Dunblane-born player to push up higher in the sport.

Without doubt he is one of the form guys on the circuit, having just recently won the Brisbane International title; so it would be no surprise if he was too make it two successive Grand Slam wins in a row.

A terrific counterpuncher and tactician on court, allied to his overall game being impeccable, no-one will look forward to facing him in the draw. Twice a finalist at the Australian Open, it may well be third-time lucky for the World No. 3.

1. Novak Djokovic (SRB) – Seeded 1

In the last two years, this man has transcended the sport of tennis to newer heights. Since 2011, Djokovic has won four of the eight Grand Slams, been a runner-up in two of them and reached the semi-final stage in the other two as well.

2011 was without question his year, as he won every major bar the French Open. His semi-final run to the French, saw the then 24-year-old Serbian record 41 consecutive victories – earning him the second longest winning streak starting in a calendar year.

Last season started brilliantly for the Belgrade-born star also as he successfully defended his Australian Open crown, for a third time, over Rafael Nadal.  Surprisingly no more majors followed for the now 25-year-old but he did win the season ending ATP World Tour Finals event, in London, which saw him crowned as the world’s best player affirmed by his World No. 1 status.

Currently the best player in men’s tennis, there’s many a reason for that. His sheer relentless ability at retrieving the ball when in tight situations instantly stands him out from his opponents. It must be so demoralising when they think they’ve won a point, only to see Djokovic return it before turning defence into attack and winning it with sheer brilliance.

An aggressive baseliner, who’s equally strong off the forehand and backhand-side of the court, and whose speed around it is equally as impressive; makes the Serbian pretty much the complete player.

The two-time reigning Australian Open champion has won the event three times in the past five years – thus it clearly suits him. Being the heavily short-priced favourite for the tournament, it is hard not to see why

By Luke Augustus

Twitter: @Luke_Augustus29

This photograph was provided by Carine06.