Australian Open 2014 and a few musings

There was a time when I used to avoid hard court season like plague. In those days, for me tennis began with European clay court season and ended on the picture perfect grass courts of Wimbledon. The reason behind this strange dislike is obvious, as during that time Rafael Nadal was struggling on hard courts, and people began to write him off as a one-court wonder. But one match changed it all for me – and it was the grueling Australian Open semifinal between Nadal and Fernando Verdasco in 2009. After that marathon match there was another epic in store – a tear-jerking final against the great Roger Federer, and the rest is history. With the 2009 title, Rafa went on to rewrite tennis history books. So thanks to Rafa and Australian Open 2009, my interest in hard court tennis was rekindled. Now, I am putting a sudden break to my Nadal fan story and heading straight over to the post.

Australian Open, the first grand slam of the year, is just around the corner. Tennis fans, pundits and media all across the globe are eagerly waiting for the tournament to start, betting and praying to all the known gods that this time their favorite player will emerge as the final winner on Rod Laver Arena. Here are my thoughts on some of the important factors of Australian Open 2014.

Who will win the battle of new coaches?

If you thought that Aussie Open is all about battling players, then you are wrong, utterly wrong. It is also going to be a battle of legends, who are now donning new role as coaches. So in the Rod Laver Arena, we will be seeing Stefan Edberg assisting Roger Federer and Boris Becker helping out Novak Djokovic. Between these former greats, only god knows who will be the next Ivan Lendl of coaching.

Fast courts – but how fast are they?

Many reports indicate that the blue surface of Australian Open is going to be much faster than the previous years. If that is the case, then we are going to see a lot of serve and volley games. I am pretty sure that Nadal will be feeling glum about all the talk on fast surfaces, meanwhile a certain Roger Federer will be grinning from ear to ear. Anyways, don’t forget who was the winner of U.S Open 2013!

The Aussie punch:

Before the start of this season, who would’ve thought of Lleyton Hewitt defeating Federer? Agreed that these days Federer is not at all playing like ‘The Roger Federer’ we know, but then also the defeat in Brisbane International Final was hard to digest. Then again, this win is a testament of Hewitt’s indefatigable spirit. There are certain factors which favor Hewitt – the spirited Aussie crowd, fast surface, his ‘never say die’attitude and fitness, and he certainly can be the dark horse.

Bernard Tomic is another Australian player, who has the potential to give a knockout punch. But he should keep his cool and try to play consistently, instead of waging verbal duels and being controversy’s child.

For once it will be all about Nadal and Djokovic on paper:

Gone are the days when tennis grand slam predictions revolved around the Big Four – Roger, Rafa, Djokovic and Andy Murray. Grand slam drought and slump in recent form have definitely dwindled Federer’s chances. Only time will tell whether the racquet change and new coach will bring any luck for this former World number 1. For Andy Murray, it is fitness woes and he himself has expressed doubts over his Aussie Open chances. That’s why I feel that Australian Open 2014 will be all about Nadal and Djokovic, even if in the previews and predictions.

The rest of the contenders:

Shocking defeats, withdrawals and upset alerts are not a news for Australian Open. Remember Nadal vs Tsonga 2008? There are many players out there, who can spring surprises even though they might not be in the same league of Djokovic or Nadal. Names such as Delporto, Gulbis, Tsonga, Ferrer and Janowicz come into mind. Let’s wait and watch who is going to be the Lukas Rosol of Australian Open 2014.

These are my thoughts on this year’s Australian Open. Like always, my scared head says it is going to be Djokovic, but the superstitious mind is rooting for Rafa. The rest of the players can spoil the party, but fingers crossed for Nadal!