Australian Open Draws : Analysed

As the biggest tennis stars on the planet are set to lock horns at the first Grand Slam of the year, here we take a look at the path of top 5 seeds for Men’s single title and their road ahead.

1. Novak Djokovic (Top Seed)

The top-seeded player has relatively tougher draws this time around. The first match is a little tricky for the Serbian as he will be facing Hyeon Chung. The 19-year-old Korean has recently won the ATP’S most improved player award. He then has potential meetings with Quentin Halys, Andreas Seppi and Benoit Paire. A tournament where he has thrived and has been unarguably the best player, it should not be a problem for the Serb to breeze past through these ties. In the quarter-finals, it’s highly likely that he will face the unpredictable Kei Nishikori.

If all the seeds hold, Djokovic will face Roger Federer in the Semi-Final, a match that has got everyone talking.

Though Djokovic has a rough road to the glory, given the form he is in, nobody can bet against him winning his record 6 title in Melbourne.

1. Andy Murray (No. 2 Seed)

Andy Murray is quite an emotional character on the court, but he will need to keep his emotions in check as he will be playing in front of a hostile crowd as he has 3 Aussies in his quarter. Alexander Zverev is his first opponent. The German is known for his big serves and won the Australian Open 2014 boys’ title. He then has a potential meeting against Sam Groth in the second round. His fourth round opponent may well be another Australian, Bernard Tomic.

Murray has a tricky quarter-final tie either against David Ferrer or Feliciano Lopez. If he defeats either of the Spaniards, he will be facing one of the former champions, Rafael Nadal or Stan Wawrinka.

If Murray has to reach the final, he will have to keep his famous returns ready.

1. Roger Federer (No 3 Seed)

Now to the fan favourite Roger Federer. Federer faces Nikoloz Basilashvili in the first round, and most likely will face Alexandr Dolgopolov in the second. His third round opponent will be Grigor Dimitrov, who is known for having a similar style to Federer. If seeds hold, he’d face David Goffin in the fourth round. Tomas Berdych, Marin Cilic and Nick Kyrgios are potential quarterfinal opponents. But like Djokovic, the most talked about a match for the Swiss is his 45 meeting with the defending champion.

It’s been quite a wait for Federer for a Grand Slam title and he will hoping to end it in this year and first grand slam of the year is just the perfect occasion though he has a red-hot Novak Djokovic in his way.

1. Stan Wawrinka (No 4 Seed)

The former champion will start against Dmitry Tursunov and faces a qualifier in his second round. It should be a classic when Stan faces Jack Sock in the third round. With one of the best forehands in the game going up against one of the best backhands, it should be a treat to watch. Milos Raonic is a potential fourth-round opponent. The Swiss will most likely face Rafael Nadal in quarterfinals, and IF he manages to beat Rafa, he will possibly face Murray in the semi-final.

It’s a tough road for Wawrinka for his second Australian title, but he has done it before, and he might surprise everyone.

1. Rafael Nadal (No 5 Seed)

It’s a rematch of the 2009 epic semi-final in Nadal’s first match as he faces Fernando Verdasco. A tough first match might just set him up for subsequent potential meetings against Fernando Verdasco. In the quarters, he will most likely have Wawrinka waiting. Though it’s a tough match to call, IF Nadal wins, he has another tough match against Andy Murray.

It’s been quite a long time since Nadal fans are waiting for the Spaniard to return to his old ways, and 2016 might just be that year. It will be really interesting to see how he will fare in the first grand slam of the year.