The Australian Open – the grand slam with the greatest prize pool and one of the more colourful, exciting tournaments – begins on January 18, and it’s bound to be special once again.
Aussie great Lleyton Hewitt will play in his 20th and final Open, and a large number of budding local stars will be on centre stage.
There is great hope for Bernard Tomic and Nick Kyrgios – the perennial bad boys of Australian tennis – to crack the top ten this year, currently sitting at #18 and #30 respectively. It would be nice to start climbing the rankings in front of a home crowd.
Tomic has said in recent interviews he has the talent and discipline to become a top-ten player, and Llyeton has also spoken to media about how this is the year that Kyrigos becomes truly elite.
These three players won’t be the only Australians at the tournament though. The world’s fastest server – #60 ranked Sam Groth – will look to ace his way through the early rounds of the tournament.
However the next-best ranked Australian, Thanasi Kokkinakis at #80, will miss the tournament due to injury, which is incredibly disappointing for the 19-year-old South Australian and his fans – he has grown in stature and popularity recently.
Other Aussies to watch are John Millman and James Duckworth.
With only three women in the top 100, our hopes at a title shot are slim, but we continue to believe in Samantha Stosur’s talents, and Casey Dellacqua’s heart to entertain us.
At #27, Stosur is the highest-ranked Australian woman. Her best performance at the Open is making the fourth round on two occasions.
Daria Gavrilova – ranked #36 – has changed her eligibility from Russian to Australian, and is the next best ranked after a strong 2015, which included victories against Maria Sharapova and Ana Ivanovic.
Dellacqua, ranked at #92, and Jarmila Gajdosova, at #105, also look to move ahead in the rankings with strong performances on home turf.
The Open has a wealth of Australian talent on display, and with many other Australian players likely to enter the tournament through the wildcard stages, the colour and the heat will be on in Rod Laver Arena come mid-January.
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