Federer adds “star” to Djokovic’s name ahead of Aussie Open

The draw released on Friday sees men’s second seed Andy Murray, beaten past year by Djokovic in the final, playing Belgian young gun Alexander Zverev as he bids to win his first Melbourne Park title after four trips to the final. He won the 2014 Australian Open junior title at Melbourne Park, so has happy memories of this tournament.

Meanwhile, players such as Kei Nishikori and Milos Raonic hope to win their first Grand Slam.

The 18-year-old, measuring 6ft 6 and ranked 83rd in the world, is widely considered one of the game’s rising stars.

Despite Djokovic’s dominance previous year, Federer, who has arrived at the Australian Open with new coach Ivan Ljubicic in tow, insisted the Serb’s competitors were not far behind.

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) – Injury?

During an ESPN press conference call, Evert talked about Djokovic, Nadal as well as career rival Roger Federer. For me the best idea was not to play.

Despite not playing a match this year, she said she was experienced enough to make the best use of her time on the practice courts to compensate.

“I don’t think about it, I never thought about it really”, she said.

He will play South Korean Hyeon Chung in the opening round.

“That’s one of the reasons I believe in myself knowing, okay, I may not have played five matches in Brisbane, but if I commit myself, train well, get some practice sets in, I know with that mindset I’ll be able to take it”.

Williams attempted a comeback at this month’s Hopman Cup mixed-team tournament in Perth but retired with soreness in her left knee, sparking speculation that at 34, she could be past her peak. She clearly has the ability to win the biggest tournaments, but until she is regularly going deep in the majors, question marks will remain over her ability to win them.

“She’s got a bounce to her step”, Tiley said of Azarenka. “Her knees simply responded badly to a treatment that she received a few days before the Hopman Cup, and she experienced swelling …”

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Even with injuries, it’s foolish to count Williams out.

World number two Andy Murray has repeated, emphatically, that he will abandon the pursuit of his first Australian Open title if his wife goes into labour early.

“It’s actually really fine”.

“When I’m on the practice court and stuff, I’m very focused there. But, yeah, I don’t think I would need surgery at all”.

Then (if all goes according to seeding) Murray would come up against Stan Wawrinka in the semi-finals, and Novak Djokovic in the final on January 31.

(7) Angelique Kerber might have suffered with gastrointestinal illness in Sydney but played great the week before in reaching the Brisbane final.

“I never thought about it really”.

Verdasco got up to show the German his own foot positioning on serve before he and Djokovic resumed with their marathon rallies. “He’s still pretty much in the fall beating the players he should beat”. It’s the first time since 2010 that both Williams sisters entered this tournament seeded in the Top 10. What injury? The draw? Catch the Australian Open day and night sessions on FOX Sports Asia network.

Williams could be in for a tricky opening, as she was drawn against one of the hardest hitters on the tour, Camila Giorgi.