Players to watch at the 2013 Australian Open

Of all the nicknames in tennis (and there are many), the one for the Australian Open is perhaps the most apt. The ‘Happy Slam’ is exactly what its title promises – it gives the players a fresh, rousing start after a year of slogging it out, and it gives the fans some much-needed tennis action after the slow, depressing off-season. And those boisterous Aussie blokes in the stands? Their willingness to spread the sporting cheer around makes it look like the festive season never left us. All of this does makes it seem a bit incongruous that the year’s most painstakingly epic battles are usually fought in Melbourne, but that’s a discussion for another day.

What do have to look forward to the most at the 2013 Australian Open? Like every other tennis tournament, the players are the real heroes and heroines of the show in Melbourne, or at least that’s what we hope (Ion Tiriac would disagree, of course). So in a two-part series, let’s take a look at the players to watch out for at the year’s first Major, starting with the women:

Sloane Stephens: The American upstart threatened to get in the bad books of Serena Williams last week, and we all know that that can never end well. In the middle of their hard-fought match in the Brisbane tournament, Stephens told her coach that Serena’s screams of ‘Come on!’ were ‘disrespectful’. So we should probably add ‘extraordinary courage’ to the list of unique abilities that Stephens possesses, yes? We’ve known for a while that the 19-year-old has some serious game, and now we know that she can fight fire with fire too, which is always a handy tool on the women’s tour. Is it time for Stephens’ first significant breakthrough? Considering this is the first time she’s been seeded at a Slam, the stars seem to be aligned alright. And oh, in case you’re wondering, her spat with Serena ended tamely; after the match she brushed off her comment as a joke, and Serena fully agreed, even going to the extent of saying, “I think she can be the best in the world one day so it was a great match.” Do we need any more convincing?

Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova: Yes, she did get hammered 6-2, 6-1 by Serena in the Brisbane final. But Maria Sharapova got hammered 6-0, 6-1 by Serena last year, and we aren’t writing career obituaries for Sharapova, are we? We’ve been waiting for Pavlyuchenkova to make good on her obvious potential for a long time now, and while her 2012 was disappointing to say the least, her run to the Brisbane final, where she defeated Petra Kvitova and Angelique Kerber, was thoroughly encouraging. Maybe, just maybe, last year was nothing but a sophomore slump, and the 21-year-old is ready to make a big splash in Melbourne? Our fingers are crossed.

Dominika Cibulkova: Diminutive Dominika? More like Dynamite Dominika. The Slovak ball-basher can make as much of speech-impeding impact on you with her surprisingly powerful game as she does with her tongue-twisting name. She has registered wins over Petra Kvitova and Sara Errani in the ongoing Sydney tournament, and is capable of blowing anyone off the court if she gets on one of her hot runs. If she can somehow avoid running into a member of the Big Three early in the tournament, watch out for this explosive shot-making machine in Melbourne.

Na Li: The former Australian Open finalist will be happy that she won’t have to run into Kim Clijsters this time. In 2011 as well as 2012, China’s darling looked like a strong title contender here before being defused by Clijsters, both times after leading by a set (and in 2012, even holding 4 match points). Li loves the slow hardcourts in Melbourne, and has the shot-making ability to stay with any woman on the tour, as we’ve frequently heard (and occasionally seen with our own eyes). She is coming off a title run in Shenzhen, and looks set to make noise at the year’s first Slam for the third year running.

The Big Three: Alright, so maybe ‘the Big Three’ on the women’s tour doesn’t quite have the same ominous ring to it as the ‘Big Four’ on the men’s tour does. But if last year’s results are anything to go by, the trio of Victoria Azarenka, Maria Sharapova and Serena Williams have turned into a formidable group in their own right. They’ve all won here before (Serena, of course, has won five times), and they are all comfortable with the pace and bounce of the courts as well as the Australian summer heat. The game-changer, it goes without saying, would be which of the top two women gets to play the 3rd seed in the semis – after suffering a year’s worth of wallopings at the hands of Serena, neither Sharapova nor Azarenka would be particularly chuffed at the prospect of facing the American before the final. But those unsavory combinations are for later; up until the semifinal stage, it looks unlikely for any of these three to be troubled too much.

Now that we’ve got the potential positives out of the way, here’s a look at some of the players who will likely not live up to their seed or the expectations:

Petra Kvitova: Wimbledon 2011 seems like a long time ago; the player who looked like an irresistible world-beater hasn’t made an appearance for more than a year now. Kvitova says she is suffering from a recurrence of her asthma-related problems because of the heat and humidity Down Under, and I totally buy that. What I don’t buy is the possibility that she can overcome her health problems and put together a strong run here.

Agnieszka Radwanska: The 4th-seeded Pole has been stopped at the quarterfinal stage three times in the past – by Daniela Hantuchova, Kim Clijsters and most recently, Victoria Azarenka. What’s common to her three conquerors? They are all extremely hard-hitting players. The slow hardcourts of Melbourne aren’t exactly conducive to Radwanska’s counterpunching style, and unless she is handed a kind draw, it will take a supreme effort from her to make her seed.

Samantha Stosur: The local favorite is seeded a relatively low No. 9, but it’s a mark of how difficult Stosur finds playing in front of her adoring home spectators that even that seems a tad too high. The Australian has failed to move past the 4th round in 12 previous appearances here, and it will take a brave man to bet on her going all the way in her 13th appearance.

For a look at the men’s field, click here: Players to watch at the Australian Open – Men.