The first grand slam of the year has just started to get into the business end of the event. Here is a quick update of all the action so far:

Best match of the first two rounds: 

2006 runner up Cypriot Marcos Baghdatis beat 2005 champion Marat Safin in a fabulous five setter- 6-4 6-4 2-6 3-6 6-2 in a tough five setter that could have gone either way. Baghdatis now finds himself in a very promising third round match against Lleyton Hewitt.

Biggest Upset: 

We haven’t witnessed too many upsets so far but the biggest one definitely has to be Jo-Wilfried Tsonga’s defeat of Andy Murray. Murray has come off a very difficult 2007 and the new year hasn’t started on a very promising note.

Other upsets: 11th seed Tommy Robredo lost to American Mardy Fish and Australia’s Casey Dellacqua defeated Patty Schnyder in three tough sets. (8-6 in the third!)

Some good links:

Why Todd Woodbridge believes Roger Federer is the greatest of all time! (GOAT): Here

The Australian police use pepper spray on fans after racism allegations:  Here

What is an anti-grand slam? Really interesting read and a lot of research! Here

This year’s Australian Open, could just prove to be the perfect start for a special year for Roger Federer. 2008 is the year of the Beijing Olympic Games and Federer has the best possible chance to achieve a Golden Slam (4 slams plus the Olympic gold medal). Here in Melbourne, the defending champion is not taking things easy. His biggest concern right now is his physical condition; he is recovering from a stomach infection and has arrived at Melbourne without any match practice. He missed playing at the Kooyong Classic exhibition tournament.

On the other hand, the draw has been very favorable to Federer. His first real test is a potential fourth round clash against Tomas Berdych, the thirteenth seed. The world no.1 is likely to face last year’s runner-up Fernando Gonzalez or his friend American Davis-cupper James Blake in the quarters. Both Gonzalez and Blake have not been in great form in the tune-up events. Blake lost to Santoro in Sydney International and Gonzalez didn’t fare too well in the Kooyong Classic, losing to Marcos Baghdatis

Novak Djokovic, the current world no.3 is the second favorite for the title. Nole, as he is affectionately called by his fans started the year on a positive note winning 4 matches at the Hopman Cup, in spite of playing with a back problem. He is seeded to face Federer in the semi-finals, but his path is filled with very dangerous opponents and he could face 5th seed, David Ferrer or the hottest player in the 2007 fall- David Nalbandian in the quarters. Nalbandian on his part is fighting his own battle of recovering from his back injury. Djokovic could face Tursunov in round 3 and 2006 finalist Cypriot Marcos Baghdatis or local hope Lleyton Hewitt in round 4.

Nadal heads the bottom half of the draw and would hope to better his last year’s performance, where he reached the quarterfinals. The year has started well for Nadal as the Spanish world no.2 reached the final of the Chennai Open where he was felled by Russian Mikhail Youzhny. The new Plexicushion surface – supposed to be a lot quicker than the Rebound Ace surface previously used – is right now playing slow. It is expected to become faster once sufficient matches are played on it during the first week. If that happens Nadal could have his task cut short. However, he has been presented with a fairly easy draw and his first real challenge could be Andy Roddick, the sixth seed in the quarterfinals – assuming he gets past Carlos Moya or the talented young Frenchman Paul-Henri Mathieu in round 4.

Fourth seed Nokolay Davydenko is seeded to face Nadal in the semis and the Russian did not have an ideal start for the year (only won a match at the Kooyong Classic) and lost in the semis of the Qatar Open to the eventual tournament winner Andy Murray, the 9^th seed here.

Predictions:

Semi-final 1: Roger Federer Vs Novak Djokovic

Semi-final 2: Andy Roddick Vs Nikolay Davydenko

Final: Federer Vs Roddick

Winner: Federer

Best Outside Chance: Andy Murray

Womens Singles:

Justine Henin arrives at the 2008 Australian Open with the best possible tune-up – she defeated world no.2 Svetlana Kuznetsova in the final of the Sydney International – thus establishing herself as the firm favorite for the first slam of the year. Her draw also appears to be easy till the quarterfinal stage, where she is expected to clash with Russian Maria Sharapova, provided the Russian gets past American Lindsay Davenport in round 2. Davenport has been in fine form since her return to tennis last year end, winning three titles- one of them this year at Auckland

Henin is seeded to face defending Champion Serena Williams in the semi-finals. Serena too is coming off a good preparation at the Hopman Cup, where she helped U.S. win the title. Serena would be looking for some serious revenge over the Belgian world no.1, to whom she has lost in the quarterfinals at the last three Grand Slams.

Venus Williams is in the bottom half of the draw and would be looking for her first Australian Open crown. She appeared in the finals once losing to sister Serena Williams in 2003. Venus is likely to face Indian Star Sania Mirza in the third round and in-form Serb Ana Ivanovic in the quarters.

Second-seed Svetlana Kuznetsova had a good 2007, where in spite of winning just one title she has managed to attain the world no.2 ranking. The highlight of her year was her appearance in the finals of the U.S. Open. She is seeded to face compatriot Anna Chakvetadze (6 seed) or 9th seed Daniela Hantuchova in the quarterfinals.

Predictions:

Semi-finals 1: Justin Henin Vs Serena Williams
Semi-finals 2: Venus Williams Vs Svetlana Kuznetsova
Final : Henin Vs Venus

Winner: Henin

Best Outside Chance: Lindsay Davenport