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The flat hitters in recent times have come into their own. Players like Davydenko have adapted to the heavy topspin approach of other top players and used it to their advantage, using the high bounce of a spinning ball to send back powerful, consistently heavy shots. Look at how Soderling beat Nadal in the French. Long may the success of those two continue - variety is the spice of a sport like tennis!

Add in Cilic to the list of possibles.

The men's draw is as wide open as it has been in recent years, but if the weather remains typically sweltering, probably the winner will be the person who can most efficiently navigate the draw.

Laura Robson "quietly" emerging as a star? She must be the world's most hyped 15-year old in the history of tennis.

RickyM - ever heard of Hingis?

I completely agree with Mr Overend's comments regarding the Davis Cup, and I would be delighted to see this tournament shelved in order to make way for a different format. Unfortunately the Tennis Authorities have precedent for being conservative, so this proposed overhaul will still have a lot of hurdles to clear.

In short, I'll believe it when I see it, but here's hoping.

RickyM, eerrrr, probably the most idiotic comment I've seen on a forum.

I put a few quid on Henin to win the aussie a week or so ago and got 5-1. Great to hear she was out on the courts looking fit and healthy after not playing in sydney!

Murray will need to improve more than just his crosscourt forehand if he wants to win his maiden slam.

Laura Robson beat Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez. Maria Jose Sanchez Lorenzo retired a few years ago & has gone on to become a mother.
Predictions for Australia: Roddick or Davydenko / Clijsters or Serena.
Henin will become a major force by Paris with the two Belgians occupying the top two spots in the world by the end of 2010. Now that Davydenko has wins over Federer/Nadal - his confidence will grow & grow with the potential to take a first slam. The conditions in Australia will suit him too as his supreme fitness (in sometimes stifling heat in Melbourne) will play right into his hands.

I agree with this Jon, and I think 2010 will be an exciting year for tennis. Davydenko's win in London has seemed to spark the confidence he has been lacking the past few years, and many had written him off as simply not good enough to win a major title. Having said this I still don't think the Aussie Open will be his this year. Federer for example always saves his best tennis for the matches 'that matter', and his grand slam record would dictate him to either win it or come very close. Nice to see Del Potro coming through as a top top player, would like Murray ideally to follow in his foot steps and win a major in 2010. I think it could happen...maybe Wimbledon this year.
On the womens side, excellent to see Henin and Clijsters slowly breaking down the Williams sisters dominance over the past few years... Caught abit of Robson at the Hopman also, she is maturing but I think it will be 3 or 4 years before she is competeting properly in the slam events.
My prediction for Aussie 2010

Men's winner - Federer Women's winner - Clijsters.

Looking forward to another great year of tennis, and as Jon said I am positive there are going to be some upsets!

Firstly Jonathan - you have a ridiculously envialbe job, and I am green with envy. I hope my linguistic skills and insightful commentary will stand me in good stead should you need a side-kick!
Secondly, I think touting Davydenko as a threat to the title is slightly naive. He won the masters at the back end of last season, when everyone was shattered. The title in Doha was an impressive win, but I haven't seen enough to convince me that over 3 sets he has the arsenal to compete with the big 5. I now consider them to be the big 5, as Del Potro in my eyes has done enough to justify his posisiton there. For me it is Murray who is hanging in there. He serves nicely, but I still don't see enough attacking options for him to be a threat.

The dark horse, and one that people haven't mentioned at all is Djokovic. He was in sintilating form at the back end of last season, but ran out of steam. Refreshed, he will be a force. Federer to win, however Djokovic and Nadal will run him close. Those 3 still a class apart.

RickyM - truly a most bizarre comment. Do you actually follow the sport ...???

Thats the second person who has said, 'what a silly comment' and 'you know nothing about tennis' without actually explaining why. Without explaining yourself you're legitimizing the comment.

Is it too much to ask that you put an "on" on the end of Brit?

Loved this comprehensive information to whet my appetite about the next fortnight. Have just watched Kirilenko beat Sharapova so your words are proving true already!

It should be a more open tournament but I would still like one more Federer/Nadal final for the memory book.

jonnyboy1104,

OK, firstly I follow Tennis quite closely. If an American 15 year old had won Junior Wimbledon they would be on the cover of Time magazine. One poster has put "ever heard of Hingis?". I would add Seles, Capriati to that and there are loads more that were feted as the new wonderkid. forget that they all actually fulfilled that hype, the amount of it was insane. Photograhers following 14/15 year olds while they went shopping is hype. Have we seen Robson plastered all over the media apart from the weeks before and after Wimbledon?
It's natural to gravitate towards a decent teenager as we have precious little in the way of top class tennis player here. For someone to post something so inaccurate and then scuttle away and watch the fallout just annoys me. Murray was hyped an he's world no.5, we sometimes get it right, Robson has something about her so why disregard her so easily? She's won one, lost in the final of one and lost in the semi of another Major junior tournament. Good player, should be given the credit she deserves.

Could someone have a word with the Aussie Open organisers about using Jim Courier for on court interviews. He is embarassingly terrible. Did anyone just hear is interview with Andy Roddick?

Isn't there a Grand Slam on? Any comments on the first eight days of it?

Ok - I have just watched the Nadal v Murray match... Brilliant! It is a crying shame that Nadal had to retire, and as a totally neutral Brit"on" - I hope he recovers quickly. We need more matches like this.

Looks like Jonathan has defected to twitter and left this blog to spin slowly in the wind

22 comments in two weeks, what the hell?

As we move towards the mens final, Murray has shown that he's picked up the rhythm really well this year, with everyone around him having "problems". I expect his opponent will be Federer, and he will be ruthless in the final, but I doubt it'll be a repeat of the US Open Final when Murray didn't turn up and Federer was relentless.

It's a shame about Nadal. I don't think he'll ever recover now. And though he may deny it, he does look smaller and weaker. Djokovic will always be good and consistent, but he hasn't built on the form of 2007-08 at all really and is just staying around the top 3/4 without pushing on. I think Murray has more talent than him and that it should in theory be Murray if he can get the best out of himself over the next few years to win slams. Federer will ultimately decline. I thought it was going to be in 2009 after a poor 2008 by his standards. Although I thought he was slightly fortunate to win Wimbledon, he's shown that he is genuinely still the best player out there, and I'm fascinated to see if he finally renews his rivalry with Nadal at the French. Have they even played each other since Wimbledon 2008, the greatest match of all time?

As for Del Potro and Cilic. Both have bright futures. Cilic is dynamite but was tired against Murray. Del Potro when he's on it, nobody can hit the ball harder or better, but he does combine the sublime with the ridiculous. If he finds the consistency to match his ability to hit a tennis ball, and a little more mental strength, then he could easily be the best player in the world after Fed goes.

Back to Murray. His aim this year has to be win a grand slam and possibly get to number 1 in the world. He had a chance of both last year-if he'd have won Wimbledon he'd have got to number 1 in the world. And he has almost the whole package now. He has everything to his game, all the shots, the tricks, the disguise, the tactics, the mental strength, the power and the intelligence. Obviously he's not 10/10 on all aspects e.g. there are players out there who could out-hit him all day on the power front, but across all the areas he's becoming the complete player, and he's going at a healthy rate. Can he win on Sunday? He'll need to be at his best and (Federer) to be below his best to have a chance. It is a distinct possibility.

What I just said about Nadal/Federer was ludicrous. Obviously they played in last year's Aussie Open Final. Then where Federer cried because he lost. That does seem still like such a long time ago. So much has changed since then.