Tennis - 2008

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Australian Open kicks off potentially historic 2008

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Outsports.com

In a world saturated by pop singers' breakdowns and politicians' pasts, a communal cliché tells us that there is "no such thing as bad publicity" and "any press is good press." Yet, somehow, this flawed philosophy doesn't translate to the world of sports.

Although many of society's gladiators disappoint across the board, from Roger Clemens or Michael Vick to Floyd Landis and Marion Jones, we unwaveringly continue to expect more from our heroes than we do from the rest of popular culture; in fact, often times, we expect more from top athletes than we do from ourselves.

Roger Federer and Venus Williams

Tennis, once deemed the realm of gentlemen and royalty, is no longer immune to scandal. The public reviles cheaters and makes example of athletes who fall below standard. As the last season of professional tennis closed, fan focus had been drawn beyond the lines of the world's most prestigious courts and into the halls of tribunals or the rumor mills of tabloid media. Top players were accused and often punished for match fixing, illegal betting, using steroids, rumored poisonings, and even testing positive for cocaine. Sullied, with headlines dominated by negativity, tennis staggered into 2008.

In hindsight, it is easy to see how tennis was ripe for degradation. The men's tour has been the sole property of one great player for several years, his continually unparalleled achievements becoming so commonplace and taken for granted that they cannot compete with salacious behind-the-scenes gossip. The women's tour is no stronger. Its stars are perpetually ravaged by a beast bourn of injury and ennui, leaving competition levels inconsistent and matches oftentimes uninteresting.

Yet, with a fresh season underway, there is room for hope. The rebirth of the Grand Slam calendar generates renewed interest. The first major of the tennis season, the Australian Open, is set to begin and offers an unexpected but much-needed metaphor for what the tennis season to come can be. That promise can be summed up in one word: Plexicushion.

Plexicushion is the new court surface on which the Australian Open will be contested this year. In an effort to reduce injury, officials made the switch from the rubbery, high-bouncing Rebound Ace surface to the faster, more stable Plexicushion, and they hope it will hold up better beneath the blistering heat of the Australian summer. The warm-up tournaments played on Plexicushion have seen plenty of injuries, so it remains to be seen whether the move was a sound choice. Nonetheless, the decision is now symbolic.

Like the new surface, tennis itself has a test to pass. As with the tournament, so too tennis seeks reestablishment. The Australian Open will be about more than the simple transition from potentially treacherous to promisingly true surface; the move embodies tennis's struggle to redeem its integrity. The first bit of good news is that such a path to integrity is not hard to uncover. As the boiling summer sun rises for the next two weeks over Melbourne, Australia, tennis lovers around the world need only look beneath the surface.

The surface change in Australia should work in favor of the famed Roger Federer, who can play on anything but prefers faster courts. The holder of 12 major titles, Federer begins this season within striking distance of Pete Sampras's record tally of 14. It is easy to envision the world's best equaling that mark this year, as he's won at least two Slams each of the past four seasons. His impressive run of dominance began when he won his first major at Wimbledon in 2003; including that victory, Federer has raced to the championship title in 12 of the last 17 majors contested. Four of the five he didn't win came on the red clay of Paris, but the rest of the men's field can grasp the slimmest confidence in knowing that the remaining loss was dealt to Roger in Melbourne.

What Federer's peers also know is that the only constant in life is change. Federer is capable of winning every event he plays, but can he continue to win major championships at such an alarming pace? Sooner or later, even the great Roger Federer will have to lose. Several players can look to last season for self-belief. Although he again went 3 for 4 in the Grand Slams, Federer lost more frequently and to a higher variety of players during regular tour events. Perhaps Federer is simply saving his best for when the matches matter most, chasing what seem to be an inevitable coronation as the best player ever to pick up a racquet; however, more than the surface has changed for this year's men's field at the Australian Open. Their attitude has changed as well. Make no mistake; Roger Federer will be challenged.

Chief among Federer's rivals for the biggest titles in tennis and one of the men most likely to play spoiler in Roger's race with history is Serbian world No. 3, Novak Djokovic . The two are projected to clash in the semifinals of this year's Australian Open and youngster has a fluid game and natural shot making abilities. Having finished runner-up at last year's U.S . Open after fighting admirably in a losing effort to Federer in the final, Djokovic is primed to break through and win a Grand Slam title this season. He should be a real threat in Melbourne, as his game is best suited to hard courts and his youthful fire matches even the highest reading on the thermometer in Oz. His fitness has been a question mark in years past and the difficult conditions are cause for concern, but Novak appears to have overcome those issues and will be a legitimate contender in events for many years to come.

Yet for all of Djokovic's potential, it is not Novak who owns the hottest start to the 2008 season. Britain's best, Andy Murray, has been inconsistent in his young career so far, but he has looked like the real deal in the weeks leading up to the first Grand Slam of the season. He won the Qatar Open and, in the process, returned to the men's top ten for the first time in a year and a half. Murray's draw at the Australian Open is not an easy one, including his first-round clash with tough Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, but Murray should come through that match and the Scot is another man who owns a victory over Federer from last year. If he can play his best consistently, the Australian Open could mark Murray's true arrival as a top player.

Second-ranked Rafael Nadal has historically played his finest tennis during the first half of the season each year, before his extremely physical style of play takes its toll in the late summer and into the fall. A fresh and injury-free Nadal has the determination required to advance deep into the Australian Open's second week. More than any other player, Nadal gives Federer fits and could be real trouble should the two face off in the final.

Yet Nadal has several obstacles to overcome if he is to reach the final. The biggest challenge Nadal may face in Melbourne is a potential fourth-round match against his mentor and friend, Carlos Moya, a former finalist in Oz and the player who knows Nadal's game better than any other. Nadal and Moya played a semifinal to remember at the warm-up event in Chennai, with Nadal escaping match points in a 6-7 (3-7), 7-6 (10-8), 7-6 (7-1) win. The triumph left Nadal spent, however, and he was trounced by another player to watch - Russia's Mikhail Youzny - in the championship match. The two could potentially meet in the semifinals.

That match-up also depends on how much of a challenge sixth-seeded American Andy Roddick can mount in his Australian Open campaign. A possible quarterfinal with Nadal would be a true test of whether or not Roddick is still capable of winning the game's biggest prizes. The surface change should favor the former U.S. Open champion, however, and Andy is desperate to be known as more than a One Slam Wonder. Roddick has often played fine tennis Down Under and has a relatively easy path to the quarterfinals. Residing in the bottom half of the draw, Roddick would not have to play nemesis Federer until the final. If another player takes out Federer in the earlier rounds, Andy Roddick could serve his way to a second major title.

Argentina's David Nalbandian may add another resurgent element to the Aussie Open this year. Once the only player in the game who could trouble Federer, Nalbandian lost his fitness and his way until late last year when he stormed through the indoor circuit – beating Federer twice in consecutive tournaments – and his return to form could not be more welcome. Given Djokovic's youth and promise, Nalbandian wears the tag of best male player not to have won a Grand Slam title. If he continues the form that closed out last season, renewed self-confidence and an adaptable game make Nalbandian a serious threat.

Other than Federer, there are only two former Australian Open champions in the men's field: the erratic and enigmatic Russian powerhouse, Marat Safin, and Sweden's Thomas Johansson. Johansson defeated Safin in the 2002 final -- undoubtedly the finest moment of his career - and they could potentially face off in a second round rematch of that shocking final. Although former finalist Marcos Baghdatis of Cyprus is Johansson's first round opponent and he surely hopes to relive his finest moments from Down Under as well.

In fact, although few former champions reside in this year's draw, several former finalists populate the men's field. Chief among them is Australia's lone hope, Lleyton Hewitt . Yet a solid run by the hometown hero seems unlikely. The sad irony is that Hewitt all but begged Australian officials to change the court surface to suit a more aggressive style of play when he was a top contender. The switch comes too late for the former Wimbledon and U.S. Open champion, whose court speed has diminished and power has been surpassed. Other former finalists include last year's runner-up, Fernando Gonzalez of Chile, and forgotten Frenchman Arnuad Clement. And don't overlook Spaniard David Ferrer, a semifinalist at last year's U.S. Open who will look for sustained Slam success in 2008.