Australian Open - Contenders For The Men's Title

But this is one experience I sure don't mind repeating. Times have changed and more exciting and talented players have come up in the men's tour and if I can be in Melbourne Park on the 19th, I'd stick around and watch the men's draw as keenly as possible. It will be so worth it to see quality matches being played in the court as nothing motivates a tennis player more than to play in a Grand Slam tournament. I have picked the names of four players and assessed their chances, not because they happen to be players occupying the top four rankings but because of their consistent showing that they put on during each tournament they played in.

1. Rafael Nadal- He finally showed the world that he has what it takes to win a major tournament that isn't played in a clay surface. That epic battle that he had with Roger Federer for the Wimbledon title went down in to the record books as the greatest final ever played. I felt sad for him though, as he pulled out of the season ending Tennis Masters Cup finals due to exhaustion. What concerns me is that even if he is still young, the rigors of having to play in tennis tournaments day in and day out of the highest quality shall take its toll on his health soon. At the moment, questions about his knee injury still lingers. Does it bother him more than he cares to admit it? He has the whole year to test that knee.

2. Roger Federer-He expressed his shock when he was asked about Justin Henin's sudden decision to retire while still occupying the top ranking. My guess is that one of the possible reason she did retire is because she couldn't find it in her self to compete against the others in the women's circuit and started to beat her rather convincingly. Federer has lost his cloak of invincibility. Sure, he won an Olympic gold medal but it came from the men's doubles division. Yes he won the U.S. Open but not after Andy Murray gave him quite a scare. Will 2009 be a better year for him? Or will his misery continue and his luck run out and that might, and I do say might, see him consider doing an Henin decision?

3. Novak Djokovic-being the only player who can boast that he was able to win against Roddick in the quarterfinal, Nadal in the semis and Federer in the final means he really must be that good. A chink in his armour though is his inconsistency. He seems to be unable to string up back to back tournament wins that can give him a boost of conficence and bring his game to the next level. If he does, we might see him win another major and contest for the number one spot.

4. Andy Murray-Compared to Tim Henman, the Scot , I think, has a better chance of winning a major. And he has showed this potential when he beat Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal but in different tournaments. Unlike Djokovic, Murray created a stir at the last quarter of the year when he won back to back Masters Series titles, and created enough momentum for him to challenge Federer in the U.S. Open final and for the no. 1 ranking this year.

By: Peri Witny

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Peri Witny is an author of Sports Articles. Watch live Australian Open tennis scores at ScoresPro.com