2011 Australian Open Overview
The City of Melbourne is gearing up to host one of the biggest events on the tennis calendar, the 2011 Australian Open.
From the 17th to the 30th of January 2011, the world's top players will meet in Melbourne to contest the year's first grand slam tournament.
Defending champion Roger Federer will be looking to claim his 17th grand slam title in the men's draw and prevent Rafael Nadal from completing four consecutive grand slam wins. Meanwhile the women's draw is wide open with defending champion Serena Williams out of the mix and a host of young starlets looking to achieve grand slam glory.
The 2010 Australian Open in Review
The 2010 Australian Open belonged to two of the biggest stars in the game. In the men's draw Roger Federer demonstrated that he is not a spent force in the game, beating Andy Murray in the men's final in straight sets after the Briton had benefitted from a walkover win against Rafael Nadal in the semis.
While Roger Federer used Nadal's injury to help himself to a 4th Australian Open grand slam title, Serena Williams found herself up against a rejuvenated Justine Henin in the final, beating the Belgian in a tense 3 set final. That win made Williams the holder of the most Australian Open titles in the Open era.
Looking Ahead to the 2011 Australian Open
The 2011 Australian Open is shaping up to be a classic grand slam tournament. All eyes are going to be on the rivalry between Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal. Federer showed that he is more than capable of beating Nadal at the highest level when he beat the Spaniard in the 2010 ATP Tour World Final, and won't want to miss out on an opportunity to take a 17th Grand Slam title.
Meanwhile, Rafael Nadal is pursuing a 4th consecutive Grand Slam title having scooped the French Open, Wimbledon and US Open titles in 2010. A win at the 2011 Australian Open will make Nadal one of only a handful of tennis players to have won all four grand slams in succession.
The trio of Robin Soderling, Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray once again look the most likely to rain on the Federer/Nadal parade, but history suggests that safe bets are on Nadal and Federer to meet in yet another epic Grand Slam final encounter.
The women's draw looks a more open affair. While world number one, Caroline Wozniacki, will be a favourirte in the Australian Open betting markets, she's yet to win a grand slam and will have to face off quality hard court players in the shape of Justine Henin and Kim Clijsters to capture her maiden Grand Slam title.
Of course, the women's draw is renowned for producting upsets, and the likes of Sam Stosur, Victoria Azarenka and Maria Sharapova will all fancy their chances to claiming a place in the 2011 Australian Open women's final.
