The Australian Open is probably the tournament with the most surprises of all the tennis Grand Slam events. But the favorites for the 2009 edition in Melbourne from January 19 to February 1 are the usual suspects.
Roger Federer Goes For Historic 14th Grand Slam Crown
Roger Federer goes into the Australian Open poised to capture his fourth crown Down Under which would give him his 14th Grand Slam title, tying the all-time mark of American Pete Sampras.
Just One Of Many Top Contenders
But Federer will have plenty of top competition to hoist the hardware to the Melbourne skies on February 1. Novak Djokovic is the defending Australian Open champion while Rafael Nadal is currently the World No. 1. In addition there are also Andy Murray and Andy Roddick in the hunt among others.
Murray Betters' Favorite
And it is Murray that is actually the betters' favorite Down Under, especially because the World No. 4 has a four-match winning streak against Federer - and six of the last seven. Murray also beat Nadal already this season - the season straight win over the lefty.
Australian The Surprise Slam
Of all the Grand Slams, the Australian Open is the one event where a surprise player has been most likely to fight his way through to the final. The finalists the past three seasons have been Marcos Baghdatis (2006), Fernando Gonzalez (2007), and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (2008). The crop of this year's underdogs include Juan Martin del Potro, Marin Cilic and Gilles Simon.
Women's Defending Champ Sharapova Out Injured
The women's field will be missing the defending champion as Maria Sharapova pulled out of the event for not being in match condition. The 21-year-old Russian is recovering from a chronic shoulder injury and has not played a tournament since August 2008.
Plenty Of Top Contenders
The race to win the 2009 crown is wide open. The Williams sisters Serena and Venus Williams must always be included among the top contenders for Grand Slam titles. Current World No. 1 Jelena Jankovic and 2008 finalist Ana Ivanovic both should challenge as will Russians Dinara Safina and Elena Dementieva.
Prize Money Record At 2009 Australian Open
Despite the on-going global financial crisis, the 2009 Australian Open will set a new prize money mark for the tournament. Men's and women's singles champions will each earn 2 million Australian dollars (U.S.$1.42 million). And the overall prize money increased AU$1.14 million (US$805,200) to AU$23.14 million (US$16.34 million) - or an increase of 12.3 percent over last season. The losing singles finalists will earn AU$1 million (US$706,300).
