Australian Open begins

The Australian Open takes place in Melbourne and is the first of the four Grand Slams to be held each year with the other three held in Paris, London and New York. The tournament was first held in 1905 and up until 1988 was played on grass before the change to a hard court. The finals are held in the Rod Laver Arena. Roger Federer, Andre Agassi and Novak Djokovic have won the title a record four times and Margaret Court has won the Ladies title a record eleven times.

Novak Djokovic and Serena are the two favourites for the Australian Open which gets underway this week. There will be a new Ladies Champion this year due to the retirement of Li Na whilst Switzerland’s Stan Wawrinka will be looking to retain his Men’s title although he will face stiff competition from fellow countryman Roger Federer as well as Novak Djokovic, Andy Murray and Rafael Nadal. Serena William’s main threats will likely be Maria Sharapova, Ana Ivanovic and Simona Halep.

Britain’s Andy Murray faces on paper a tough draw and faces India’s Yuki Bhambri in the first round however if he is victorious in his opening match he faces the prospect of playing Grigor Dimitrov, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal if he hopes to reach the final. However he does enter the tournament in good form having beaten Rafael Nadal in an exhibition match last week as well as three victories last week in the Hopman Cup in Perth. He has also recently changed his backroom team with the departures of Dani Vallerdu and Jez Green.

We should be in for great two weeks tennis, our tips, for what it’s worth, are Roger Federer and Serena Williams.