WOMEN
The first “seeded" Maria Sharapova for the first time in her career has the most preferable chances to win in Australia (in the last two years Sharapova has stopped in the semifinals: in 2005 she lost to the American Serena Williams, and in 2006 to the Belgian Justine Henin-Ardenne). Not so long ago, Maria said that she is now in almost the best form for her entire career and receives great pleasure from tennis and training, which, as she mentioned, is not always the case.
While Henin-Ardenne solves family problems, Lindsay Davenport, who has solved them, is expecting a baby, and Amelie Moresmo, of pleasant surprises from her health, only three can prevent the Russian woman: herself, Kim Kleisters and Martina Hingis. The Belgian woman, who announced before the start of the season that he would be her last in professional tennis, did not lose her ambition at all and wants to leave beautifully. At least her recent victory at a tournament in Sydney and, more importantly, a great game prove it. And for Hingis, the Australian tournament is traditionally the most favorite - she won here three times and played the same number of times in the finals. In addition, the level of tennis that she showed in the first weeks of the new year, says that Martina is already tired of enjoying just the opportunity to go to court, as it was last season, and is ready to win.
Three Russians who are in the top ten of the WTA rating are able to present surprises: Svetlana Kuznetsova, Nadezhda Petrova and Dinara Safina. But if health can become a hindrance for the first two, then the youngest representative of the Safin tennis dynasty still lacks psychological stability, and it alternates confidently held matches with failures.
MEN
To say that someone can challenge Roger Federer is easy, necessary and desirable. But strong evidence for this is still not possible. The first matches of the season did not show that the Swiss became stronger, but they also did not give reason to believe that one of his rivals had grown to a level that allowed him to overthrow the current tennis king. Even if Federer loses in Australia, this defeat will be just an exception, without prerequisites to become the rule. The main intrigue of the male part of the starting tournament is the question: who can at least challenge the Swiss? But here, the scope for thought narrows to a trivial answer: any tennis player from the top ten and individual talents from outside of it.
From the opposite part of the tournament grid, the final fight can be fought by American James Blake and Scot Andy Murray. The physical and mental condition of other applicants - David Nalbyandyan, Nikolay Davydenko and Rafael Nadal - is unlikely to allow them to hope for success now. Andy Roddick and Marat Safin can try to stop Roger before the finals. The American on the eve even beat Federer in the final of the AAMI Classic Melbourne tournament, but the indicative status of the competition does not give a reason to take this result very seriously. And Safin hardly forgot his bright victory over the first racket of the world here two years ago and wants to at least repeat that success.
Andrey IVANTSOV