Australian Open 2014: Breaking Down Favorites in 1st Grand Slam of Year

By
at Internationaled.org

Published: January 14, 2014

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Despite temperatures so hot that a ball boy and one player, Frank Dancevic, fainted on the court, play continued at this year's Australian Open, the first of four Grand Slam titles to be contested on the year.

Not surprisingly, the majority of the favorites survived the first round of play.


On the men's side, everything goes through Novak Djokovic. The men's No. 2 has won this tournament three times in a row and nearly won three Grand Slams a year ago, finishing as the runner-up in both Wimbledon and the U.S. Open.

Djokovic also has the easiest draw, as he won't have to face Rafael Nadal, Andy Murray or Roger Federer until the final, should he advance that far. Of course, a potential semifinal against David Ferrer is no walk in the park.



Murray is not to be taken lightly on the other side of the draw. He has finished as the Australian Open runner-up in two of the past three years and has won two of the past five Grand Slams, including Wimbledon last year. He could potentially face Federer in the quarterfinals, however.

Nadal is another huge favorite. He won two Grand Slams a year ago and justifiably comes into this tournament as the No. 1 seed. The crafty Spaniard was incredibly dominant a year ago, and he'd like nothing more than to extend that form into this season.

He'll likely face Juan Martin del Potro in the quarterfinals, however—a difficult draw.

And then there is Federer, who has fallen to the No. 6 seed in this tournament. Federer has won just one Grand Slam title since 2011 and clearly is no longer the dominant player in the men's game, but he's still more than capable of making a run through this tournament.

Still, he'd likely have to go through Murray, Nadal and Djokovic to win in Australia, a brutal stretch of play and one he isn't likely to survive.



On the women's side, you might think it's all...
Article Source: Bleacher Report - Tennis

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