Australian Open 2016 Singles Preview: Djoker and Serena look to continue dominance

Women’s Singles:On paper, women's singles has had only one favorite for some time – No. 1 seed Serena Williams. Williams' dominance of women's tennis was so complete last year that she won 3 of the 4 slams and missed out only on the US Open. Grudgingly so, the world has taken 21 slams to finally come to acknowledge her class, unlike the delightful Roger Federer. The Australian Open may very well see the defending champion equal Steffi Graf’s Open Era record of 22 slams. Serena, however, seems to be suffering from some injuries even though she has claimed complete match fitness.

a) No. 4 seed Agnieszka Radwanska (POL): A semifinalist here in 2014, the Pole has been in great form the past four months winning titles in Tokyo, Tianjin, the WTA Finals in Singapore at the end of 2015 and the Shenzhen title just last week. Her all-around prowess can befuddle the biggest of hitters.

Dark horses:

a) No. 2 seed Simona Halep (ROM): The Romanian keeps improving. If she overcomes the mental hurdle of handling pressure as well as the left Achilles injury, she is set for a deep run.

c) No. 8 seed Venus Williams (USA): After winning Wuhan and Zhuhai in the fall, many expect big things from the 35-year-old. If fit and healthy, she can crack her serve and go all the way.

d) No. 12 seed Belinda Bencic (SUI): The 18-year-old made huge strides last year with big tournament wins in Eastbourne and Toronto. The talented Swiss is destined for a huge run.

f) No. 24 seed Sloane Stephens (USA): Last summer, she won her first title in Washington. Last week, she won her 2nd in Auckland. The former semifinalist is playing some of her best tennis.

How the draw has panned out:

b) No. 6 seed Petra Kvitova of the Czech Republic opens her campaign against Luksika Kumkhum of Thailand, the qualifier who beat the Czech in the 1st round of the 2014 edition. The Czech struggles with the hot conditions of Melbourne, so will history repeat itself or will it be sweet revenge?

c) Halep and A. Radwanska have tough matches early on. Halep could face Hobart champion and nemesis Alize Cornet in the second round. Radwanska could meet Hobart finalist and former Wimbledon runner-up Eugenie Bouchard in the same round.

e) Azarenka is in the much more open bottom half of the draw. After tough luck with the draws last year, the Belarusian gets the break she needed.

Women’s Singles draw http://www.ausopen.com/en_AU/scores/draws/ws/wsdraw.pdf

No. 4 seed Stan Wawrinka (SUI) is the only player not named Djokovic to win the Australian Open in the past 5 years having won in 2014 beating the Serb along the way. His pure aggression and sublime one-handed backhand are unmatched. The last player to hand Djokovic a slam loss (2015 Roland Garros final), Wawrinka comes in having won the Chennai Open last week.

Other favorites include:

b) No. 13 seed Milos Raonic (CAN): The Canadian had a setback last year with injuries, but a strong off-season has rejuvenated him as he went on to win Brisbane last week beating Roger Federer in straight sets in the final. Fit and healthy, he is hitting that big serve which is hard to read. He is also more confident going for his groundstrokes. Watch out for him.

c) No. 3 seed Roger Federer (SUI): Recent history suggests that winning 7 best-of-five matches has become a tough task for him, but it’s never wise to write off someone who holds 17 Slams.

Dark horses:

a) No. 6 seed Tomas Berdych (CZE): He reached the semifinals here in Melbourne the last 2 years. Has he plateaued or can he go further this year?

c) No. 12 seed Marin Cilic (CRO): It’s hard to believe that it was in 2014 that the Croat won his only slam at the US Open. A former semifinalist here, the hard courts suit his big game perfectly.

d) No. 29 seed Nick Kyrgios (AUS): The Australian reached the quarters in his home slam last year. Part of “generation next”, the 20-year-old has swagger and believes he belongs.

a) As much as Djokovic is the heavy favorite, he has a tricky opener against Hyeon Chung of South Korea. Chung, 19, has a good balance of power and shot making to make the Serb think.

b) Federer is in Djokovic’s half of the draw meaning they can only meet in the semifinals unlike the last two slams (Wimbledon and the US Open) where they met in the final. Federer also has a potential 3rd rounder against Grigor Dimitrov, the 27th seed who just made the final of Sydney.

d) Lleyton Hewitt, the former world No. 1 and two-time slam champ chose his home slam to be the last tournament of his career. He starts against compatriot James Duckworth. And if he wins that, he might meet 8th seed David Ferrer of Spain in the following round which could be the last match of the Aussie’s illustrious career.

e) When Saketh Myneni lost in the 3rd round of qualifying, it meant that India’s singles hopes would solely rest on the shoulders of Yuki Bhambri. The 23-year-old from New Delhi, who made his Slam debut against Murray last year here in Melbourne, will take on Berdych in the 1st round on Monday. Berdych has a big serve and hits a flat ball which robs opponents of time to set up for shots. Bhambri needs a good 1st serve percentage and to mix things up by running around his backhand to play his favorite forehand and then finishing off points at the net. Doesn't sound so tough, eh?

So who do you think is going to win the Australian Open? Share your thoughts. And stay tuned for the doubles preview.