The first Grand Slam of the year (Australian Open) will begin on the 18th of January 2016 . Newfanzone.com takes a look at the big wigs, fixtures and prediction of who wins the Australian Open in Melbourne.
Men’s Preview
Novak Djokovic is always the favorite going into any Grand Slam tournament in recent years. The Serb has won five titles in Melbourne and would be comfortable playing against his opponents. Novak is the defending champion and getting to the finals will be his least target.
Andy Murray had a quite fantastic season last year in which he won the Davis Cup title for Great Britain. He has never won the Australian Open though he has made it to four finals in Melbourne, the latest was in 2015 against Novak Djokovic. The Scot, who kept faith in his coach Amelie Mauresmo will hope their partnership yield a Grand Slam title this year beginning with the Australian Open.
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Roger Federer will also be a favorite in Melbourne. The Swiss has struggled a bit this year coupled with him not being 100% fit. He defeated Novak 3 times on hard court in 2015 which means Roger still has what it takes to take him all the way.
Newfanzone player to watch this year Stanislas Wawrinka will definitely be in the mix when it comes to who eventually wins the title. Wawrinka won this competition in 2014(his 1st Grand Slam) defeating Novak Djokovic in the Semis and since then he has gone on to win several Master titles and another Grand Slam title in France. The Swiss has already won a title this year which is a sign of intent already.
Rafael Nadal looks to have put his injury worries behind him as he has already participated in a lot of ATP Masters tourney since coming back from injury. Nadal will push hard for this one but getting to the Semis might seem impossible for him.
Other players to watch that might cause an upset include; Tomas Berdych, Kei Nishikori, David Ferrer, Kevin Anderson,Marin Cilic & Milos Raonic.
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NOTABLE FIRST ROUND DRAWS
* Novak vs Chung
* Zverev vs Murray
* Tursunov vs Wawrinka
* Nadal vs Verdasco
* Kohlschreiber vs Nishikori
* Lorenzo vs Dimitrov
* Cilic vs Bakker
* Ramos-Vinolas vs Coric
* Raonic vs Pouille
* Ferrer vs Qualifier
* Janowicz vs Isner
* Tomic vs Istomin
NEWFANZONE VERDICT
It all looks like Novak Djokovic will retain his title at Melbourne. The Serb consistency and mental strength will push him all the way though Andy Murray and Stan Wawrinka will prove to be a Banana peel for Novak.
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Women’s Preview
Serena Wiliams doesn’t look 100% fit coming into this one. The world No.1 has been struggling with injuries recently and she might not be able to cope with the intensity of the competition. Though Serena can win the Grand Slam with less than a 100%,she will hope the injury doesn’t affect her all round performance in Melbourne.
Simona Halep has also struggled with injuries and the 2nd best player in the world is yet to win a Grand Slam. This is a good opportunity for Halep to win the much coveted prize taking into consideration Serena’s injury crisis.
Garbine Muguruza retired from the Brisbane Open with a left foot injury. The young Spaniard played good tennis last year and will look to replicate the form especially when it comes to the big stage. Hopefully, she would be fully fit to play in Melbourne as the top seeds have not been convincing enough recently.
Sharapova has won the event before and knows what it takes to win a Grand Slam title. Hopefully she can earn a respectable finish in Australia.
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Two time Champion Victoria Azarenka is also playing with confidence this year and she looks like a dark horse for this competition.
Other Notable players that could cause an upset include; Petra Kvitova, Angelique Kerber,Venus Williams, Agnieszka Radwanska,Carla Suarez Navarro,Caroline Wozniacki & Roberta Vinci.
NOTABLE FIRST ROUND DRAWS
* Serena vs Giorgi
* Radwanska vs Konjuh
* Putintseva vs Wozniacki
* Hibino vs Sharapova
* C.S Navarro vs Vinci
* Bouchard vs Krunic
* Qualifier vs Kvitova
* Azarenka vs Uytvanck
* Kontaveit vs Muguruza
* Ivanovic vs Patterson
* Qualifier vs Halep
* Keys vs Diyas
* Venus vs Konta
NEWFANZONE VERDICT
The winner would be too tight to call with Serena struggling with injuries recently. The Newfanzone.com player to watch for 2016 Garbine Muguruza might just get to win her first Grand Slam title this year.
You can predict the winner of the Australian open by leaving a comment here or by tweeting @newfanzone and @demydemo. Remember Newfanzone comes up every saturday on City 105.1fm from 2pm
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