Australian Open 2017: Top 5 contenders for the title

These are certainly exciting times for a tennis fan. We're just a few days from the first Grand Slam of the year, the Australian Open, and we still don't have a clear favorite heading in to the tournament.

While Novak Djokovic and the new world no.1 Andy Murray may have stronger chances than the others, only a fool would write off a player like Milos Raonic, who's been moving up the ladder ever so fast. Let us take a look at the players who go into the tournament with the strongest chances of winning -

1) Novak Djokovic

It's safe to say that Melbourne Park is Djokovic's fortress. The 29 year old has triumphed six times at this venue, the most by any player in the history of the game. He's won here five times in the last six years, and goes into this year's tournament as the two-time defending champion.

But things are expected to be trickier this time around for the Serb, for there have been happenings, both on and off the court, that could affect his performance at the Open. This will be the first Grand Slam that the Serb will be playing without Boris Becker by his side.

It may be recalled that the duo had split late last year, and it is uncertain on what terms exactly.

Becker has been instrumental in Djokovic's success in Australia. It'll be really interesting, therefore, to see how Djokovic performs sans Becker in Melbourne.

Djokovic did not have the best last three months of 2016, a phase that saw him lose his no.1 ranking to Andy Murray. He went into a self-admitted slump. "I haven’t felt that confident on court and didn’t play that consistent", said Djokovic, about his relatively poor run of form at the fag end of the 2016 season.

But Djokovic has shown in the first week of the year at Doha, that he's found that hunger back again, and is determined to snatch back that numero uno spot from Murray. Djokovic beat Murray in the final of the ATP 250 event, a match where both the players pushed their bodies to the extreme limit.

Djokovic seems to have got his mojo back, and will be eager to prove doubters wrong at this year's Australian Open.

2) Andy Murray

Andy Murray has had the best season of his career so far

Now World No. 1, Murray was on a 28-match winning streak before Djokovic halted his run at the Qatar Open finals. The number 28 gives you an idea of the rich vein of form Murray's been in. He dethroned Djokovic at the top of the ATP rankings last year on the back of this incredible run, and kept that top rank to end the year.

Murray has been unable to break the finalist barrier at the Australian Open, finishing runners up five times, losing in the last two years to Djokovic himself in the final. Murray would be keen to set that record straight. There were also talks of Murray being lucky to have grabbed the top spot, owing to Djokovic's indifferent mental state, and the steady decline of Federer and Nadal.

For a player who has always been under the shadow of the other members of the "Big Four", this Australian Open is the perfect opportunity for Murray to potentially put an end to all those trolls that have been going around for the last few years, and to cement his place as one of the greats of the game, if he hadn't already. The fact that his credibility as the number one player in the world is at stake will only act as added motivation.

3) Stan Wawrinka

Wawrinka has had a stuttering start to the year but experience will be on his side

Wawrinka did not have the best of starts to his 2017 season. Choosing to play at Brisbane instead of Chennai, which has been a happy hunting ground for many years now, did not turn out too well for the Swiss. He might have reached the semi-finals at Brisbane, but that includes a bye in the first round and two very tight wins over Viktor Troicki and Kyle Edmund, before bowing out in straight sets to Kei Nishikori.

But with past experience, it can be said that all of this will hardly matter once the Open starts, as Stan is known to rise up for occasion. If there ever was a "big-match player", it has to be him. The only challenge for "Stanimal", now, would be to see off the early few rounds safely. Because once he gets into the second week, he can be a completely different player.

To come to think of Wawrinka's achievements, he's closer to the Career Grand Slam than Murray, a player who seems to have been around at the top for so much longer than Wawrinka. While the Swiss just has Wimbledon left to win, Murray has both the Australian Open and French Open to conquer.

Riding behind the weight of his backhand, Wawrinka might just be able to do what his fellow 127 competitors will set out to do next Monday, but with so much more ease.

4) Milos Raonic

Raonic last year made his first Grand Slam final – and his form indicates he could well repeat the feat

Raonic might not have had the ideal starts to the year, having failed to defend his Brisbane title from last year, but there's been such a stark, visible improvement in his ground game. Raonic has been putting in constant work on his fitness, and it clearly reflects on court.

Beating Nadal or not beating Nadal is a different thing, but the fact that he was able to match Rafa shot for shot in their rallies at the recently concluded Brisbane International quarter-finals, says a thing or two about the progress the 6ft 5in Canadian has made in his groundstrokes.

His forehand down the line is one of the best in the game now, and the best part is that he's not afraid to use it at crucial junctures in the match. And with the kind of serve that he possesses, Raonic will definitely be a force to be reckoned with at the Open this year.

5) Kei Nishikori

Nishikori is known to favor hard courts, and has done well at the Australian Open

It's no secret that Nishikori prefers hard courts over anything other surface. Out of his 11 ATP titles, 9 have come on hard courts. This trend carries over to Grand Slams as well. Kei has breached the quarter-final barrier six times, out of which five have been on hard courts.

Three of these happen to be quarter-final showings at Melbourne Park.

At 27, Kei's not getting any younger.

And having had a prolonged taste of top level tennis, one might think that this year could finally be the year when he breaks his Grand Slam drought. Kei has had a good feel of the conditions in Australia, having made the final at Brisbane only last week, and this should stand him in good stead before the battle at Melbourne Park.

While the US Open might act as another great opportunity, there is no doubt that Kei will be giving it his all come the first Grand Slam of the year.