This year’s will be very special at the Australian Open as it will be the 100th time the Men’s Singles event will be contested. A total of 59 men have won the title, which begs the question will we once again have a repeat winner as we did with Novak Djokovic or will someone new win the event for the first time, making them Champion No. 60?
Djokovic, along with Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal all go in as favorites in their own way though some question marks linger on if they will be the ones holding up the Norman Brooks Challenge Cup on the final Sunday. It’s not a given that all three men will reach the semis as we saw last year when injury halted Nadal’s chance for a “Rafa Slam”. It may feel inevitable the “Big 3” will get to the semis but that’s one sure bet I wouldn’t take.
Andy Murray is hoping the addition of “Mr. Lendl” to his coaching box will be the final piece of the puzzle he needs to solve the elusive riddle on how to win his first Major. Lendl just might fine tune Murray’s game and mind to the exact precision point of perfection, but how well Murray executes Lendl’s gameplan as well as handle the added media focus that Lendl brings on Murray could well be the biggest story of the whole event.
Then there’s a handful of players that are hoping that they will become the event’s 60th and newest champion. From Jo-Wilfried Tsonga who seems to be many’s darkhorse pick to win to Juan Martin Del Potro who wants to prove he really is all the way back to being a Major contender. And don’t forget the youngsters Milos Raonic and Bernard Tomic who though they might not go all the way this year, could certainly prove their time on the winner’s podium on Rod Laver Arena is not that far away.
The 100th Men’s Championships of the Australian Open will sure to be mentioned a lot during the next two weeks, making all of the players aware of the significance and importance of being a part of such a memorable part of tennis history, but especially for the man who wins it all, whether he repeat as number 59 again, or etch a new name into the trophy as champion number 60.
Adjusting the Net 