The Australian Open starts up on Monday for the first grand slam of the year and the major has some big names at the top, as Rafael Nadal and Serena Williams are the top seeds on the men's and women's side of the draw and that gives reigning champion Novak Djokovic an easy go of things as he tries to win his fourth straight title.
The draw has Nadal in the number one seed and that means he is stacked with a number of top players, including Andy Murray and Roger Federer and that means Djokovic has the chance to avoid playing against those names as he tries to win his fourth straight slam down under. Djokovic is in the number two seed and that means he also will be away from Juan Martin del Potro in the draw and he comes in on a 24-match winning streak and starts with an easy match against Lukas Lacko, who is ranked 90th and he could face off against Stanislas Wawrinka later in the quarters and he was a tough opponent last season, losing 12-10 in a fifth set in their matchup.
Djokovic has owned it down under over the past three years and now he will have David Ferrer and Tomas Berdych on his part of the draw and while it is easier than Nadal's, Djokovic knows how tough ti can be. Nadal and Djokovic could add another epic match to their career rivalry and Nadal comes in off a fantastic year in 2013 that saw him win two more Grand Slam titles, including the US Open and he won that with Williams, who is looking like the favorite once again at the tournam,ent.
Last year she lost early to Sloane Stephens and Victoria Azarenka ended up winning and that was for the second time in a row and now Williams is set to face off against Azarenka or Maria Sharapova in the finals, as they are on the other side of the draw. Williams has a dominant record against both players and after the way she performance last year, she looks ready to roll and she also won in Brisbane to get things started right this year as well. Nadal won in Qatar to continue his run of strong play and now the two first seeds will have the chance to start off with a grand slam. Nadal has a tough first match with home native of Australia Bernard Tomic, while Williams also plays against an Aussie in Ashleigh Barty.