2015 season set to begin on a high with top ranked players preparing for the Australian Open

The top stars in tennis prepare for the first Grand Slam of 2015

As the new year dawns upon us, all the players are getting ready and warming up for what could be one of the most exciting seasons for tennis. 2014 saw a lot of new players coming into the fray and with two new Grand Slam champions being crowned.

Along with these young players coming in, we will also see the return of some big names in 2015. Rafael Nadal and Juan Martin Del Potro have confirmed their return for the new season.

The Grand Slam of the 2015 season, the Australian Open, will start on 15th January at Melbourne Park. There are 3 tournaments scheduled to take place before the Australian Open which usually act as a warm ups to Australian Open. The Brisbane International, The Aircel Chennai Open and the Qatar ExxonMobil Open are all set to begin on the 5th of January. The Hopman Cup, which is a team event organized by the ITF and which does not distribute ranking points is scheduled for the 5th of January as well.

Schedule of the top ranked players

Novak Djokovic

Novak Djokovic, the World No. 1 who ended 2014 with one Grand Slam (Wimbledon) and the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals to his name will kick start his campaign in Doha, Qatar at the Qatar ExxonMobil Open. He will be looking to carry on his form from the ATP World Tour Finals into 2015 and he will also have a tough fight to retain his No.1 world ranking.

Roger Federer

Roger Federer, who had a superb season on court in 2014, having the best winning percentage will be starting off his campaign at Brisbane in the Brisbane International, just like he did last year. Federer was the runner up at this tournament in 2014, losing the final to LLeyton Hewitt. The 33-year-old will be looking to continue on his brilliant run of form and pick up a Grand Slam in 2015. He will also be challenging Novak Djokovic as he looks to get back the World No. 1 ranking.

Rafael Nadal

Rafael Nadal, who will be making a much awaited return to the tour, after a succesful apendicitis surgery will be kicking things off at the Qatar Open along with Novak Djokovic. It is difficult to say about how the Spaniard is going to fare in 2015. If he is able to keep his injuries away and get back to top form, we could see him lift a few trophies in 2015.

Stanislas Wawrinka

Stanislas Wawrinka, who had his best season ever in 2014, lifing his maiden Grand Slam title at Melbourne and his first ever Masters Series title at Monte-Carlo, will be opening his campaign at the Aircel Chennai Open. He will be looking to retain that title as well and continue on his good run of form with consistent results.

Andy Murray

Andy Murray will be taking part in the Hopman Cup in Perth alongside fellow British number one Heather Watson.

Other stars

US Open finalist and Asia’s number one, Kei Nishikori will be taking part in the Brisbane Open. Grigor Dimitrov, Milos Raonic and Kevin Anderson are scheduled to take part in the Brisbane Open as well. David Ferrer and Tomas Berdych will be alongside Djokovic and Nadal at Doha.

The 2015 season is surely going to be an exciting one and with so many new players it is difficult to predict as to what is going to happen. Its going to be a treat to the eyes for tennis fans all over the world, as the season is set to kick off this week.