The 2015 Australian Open has started with a bang, with seeds falling left right and centre. The near loss of Rafael Nadal in the second round caused a buzz, yet it was the third round loss of Roger Federer which has proved to be the biggest upset of the tournament so far. Looking back on week one of the Australian Open, just what will week two have in store.
Defending champion and number four seed at this year’s tournament, Stanislas Wawrinka, started his campaign off smoothly, having returned to a Grand Slam for the first time as defending champion. There was certainly added pressure on the shoulders of the Swiss number two player, yet Wawrinka managed to come through his opening match with relative ease, beating Marsel Ilhan without dropping a set. Stan has had a rather handy draw so far, facing little danger, however he will take on the tricky left handed Finn Jarkko Nieminen in the third round; having progressed from his first two rounds without dropping a set, his third match may prove more difficult. Jarkko is an extremely talented player, his left handed shots prove very tricky at times and he is a very fast mover, but the power of Wawrinka may prove to be too much for the Finn. Stan may lose his first set but expect the Swiss to feature on Sunday in the fourth round.
Wawrinka’s Swiss compatriot Roger Federer opened proceedings just as easily; the number two seed opened his Australian Open bid by defeating Yen-Hsun Lu in straight sets. Roger found his second round slightly tougher, losing a set to Italian Simone Bolelli. The biggest shock of the men’s draw and perhaps the tournament so far was the shock loss Federer suffered to another Italian, Andreas Seppi. Seppi has always proved to be a tough competitor with a lot of experience, but many people would have predicted Roger would feature well into the second week of the competition. Will this early loss for the number two seed light a fire under those players ranked outside of the top 4? Perhaps Tomas Berdych could make a good run; with a clean sheet in his opening three rounds, Tomas is yet to lose a set and is looking extremely impressive.
All eyes were on Rafael Nadal on the opening day, having played very few matches since summer of 2014 Nadal is out to prove himself this tournament. Rafa got off to a flyer beating the experienced Russian Mikhail Youzhny with the loss of only six games. Things started to look bleak for Rafa in the second round as he fought hard to defeat the American Tim Smyczek, ranked outside the top 100 in five sets. Having come through that difficult match Rafa then defeated Dudi Sela in straight sets, to set him up for his next match against the big serving Kevin Anderson. Rafa could find the match up against the tall South African an extremely tough encounter, one which is not to be missed.
Andy Murray and Novak Djokovic, no strangers to success at Grand Slam level also found themselves progressing onto the second and third round without bother. Andy Murray is looking in form this tournament, he has his fitness back and is moving extremely well, something which was lacking towards the end of 2014. Murray has found himself into the fourth round without dropping a set and will next face number 10 seeded Grigor Dimitrov, who got the better of Any Murray the last time they played at Grand Slam level. The match between Murray and Dimitrov could prove to be the match of the day, and with both players looking very good so far, it will prove to be a tough match to call.
World number one and four-time Australian Open champion Novak Djokovic has progressed into the third round relatively untroubled, but the Serb will find his third round tie a much tougher match when he plays Fernando Verdasco. Verdasco, a former semi-finalist at the Australian Open, will not be easy to put away. A man who loves the centre court and the big occasion with nothing to lose against a four time champion, out to regain his title after losing to Wawrinka in 2014, it should prove to be the match of the day on Saturday in Melbourne.
With three of the top 4 still left in the competition, and the defending champion still going strong, the next few rounds will prove to be very interesting as they unfold. Will there be more shock losses or will we have a final between former champions come next Sunday? If the second week is anything like the first, it should prove to be a cracker.
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