2015 Australian Open

**Sir David Gray** · 14-01-2015 11:08 PM

The 2015 tennis season begins on Monday from Melbourne.

12 months ago Stan Wawrinka beat Rafael Nadal to win his first ever Grand Slam tournament in the men's event and in the women's event, the now retired, Li Na beat Dominika Cibulkova.

I would be surprised if we see any of those players reach the finals this year.

In the men's draw, I don't think you can look much further than Novak Djokovic to be the champion. He's won it four times already and lost last year in a brilliant encounter with Wawrinka who probably played one of the matches of his life.

If I was a betting man, my money would be on him.

As for the women's draw, it is a bit less predictable. There has to come a time when Serena Williams will become less dominant and whilst I'm not totally convinced that it will happen just yet, I think the younger players coming up like Simona Halep and Eugenie Bouchard have a great chance of doing something this time around. Then you've also got the likes of Victoria Azarenka, Maria Sharapova and Agnieszka Radwanska.

As for British involvement, it's a case of the same old story unfortunately with Andy Murray being the only real prospect in either the men's or women's events. Kyle Edmund and Liam Broady are still involved in qualifying so hopefully they can both make it through to the main draw.

In the women's draw, Laura Robson has already pulled out through injury so it looks like Heather Watson may be the only hope for Britain although I don't fancy her to go too far.

Hoping it will be a good tournament.

You can't beat the Australian Open when you have a match at midnight, a wee sleep and then wake up for the night match at 8am!

***PatHead*** · 14-01-2015 11:37 PM

About time this thread was up. Didn't want to steal your thunder by making a thread.

Think Murray has a fair seeding and hope his new coaching team work.

What effect will the new set up have on him and will he miss his "buddies"?

What tv side is it on?

How do you fancy Murray's chances?

Is he going to play every game at the hottest time of the day again?

When is the draw getting made?

**Sir David Gray** · 14-01-2015 11:49 PM

Originally Posted by PatHead

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About time this thread was up. Didn't want to steal your thunder by making a thread.

Think Murray has a fair seeding and hope his new coaching team work.

What effect will the new set up have on him and will he miss his "buddies"?

What tv side is it on?

How do you fancy Murray's chances?

Is he going to play every game at the hottest time of the day again?

When is the draw getting made?

Glad you learned your lesson after last year.

Murray's seeded sixth which could mean that he faces either Djokovic or Federer in the quarter finals.

I think the merits of his new coaching set up have yet to be seen. I personally have my doubts about how successful he's going to be under Mauresmo but time will tell on that one.

I think he'll do ok at the Australian Open. He has a decent record at the event and has obviously reached the final on three previous occasions. I can see him getting to the semis but I don't see him as the potential champion.

TV coverage, as always, will be on Eurosport 1 and 2 throughout the tournament. I believe the BBC will do their usual and broadcast one men's semi final plus the final of the men's and women's tournaments.

***PatHead*** · 14-01-2015 11:56 PM

Don't have Eurosport

Think Raonic will be a good each way bet. If he gets his serve going he will be trouble for anyone and I think if he is going to make it this will be the year to take the next step.

Makes Murray look like a cheery soul though.

**Sir David Gray** · 14-01-2015 11:59 PM

Originally Posted by PatHead

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Don't have Eurosport

Think Raonic will be a good each way bet. If he gets his serve going he will be trouble for anyone and I think if he is going to make it this will be the year to take the next step.

Makes Murray look like a cheery soul though.

Do you not have Sky or Virgin?

***PatHead*** · 15-01-2015 02:20 PM

Originally Posted by Trig

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Do you not have Sky or Virgin?

No cable in the hills, used to have a Sky dish but wind really screws a Sky dish so have BT.

Pretty useless really.

**Sir David Gray** · 15-01-2015 10:03 PM

Originally Posted by PatHead

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No cable in the hills, used to have a Sky dish but wind really screws a Sky dish so have BT.

Pretty useless really.

I'm not too familiar with BT TV, I take it that it doesn't have Eurosport?

Pretty poor if true.

***PatHead*** · 15-01-2015 10:31 PM

Originally Posted by Trig

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I'm not too familiar with BT TV, I take it that it doesn't have Eurosport?

Pretty poor if true.

Nope BT Sports 1 and 2 and ESPN.

**Sir David Gray** · 15-01-2015 10:47 PM

Originally Posted by PatHead

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Nope BT Sports 1 and 2 and ESPN.

That's poor. I saw something mentioned about the TV entertainment pack when I was looking through their deals a while back and I saw something mentioning Eurosport.

Is it just a catch up service that's available for Eurosport or have I got that totally wrong!?

**Sir David Gray** · 15-01-2015 11:57 PM

Murray has been handed a pretty hard draw.

He should get through the first three rounds without too much trouble.

He plays a qualifier in round one and then will either play Marinko Matosevic or another qualifier in the second round. He'll then potentially play Martin Klizan in round three.

However it will then probably get a whole lot harder.

He will possibly play Grigor Dimitrov in the last 16, the man who hammered him at Wimbledon last year. If he manages to get past him, he's due to face Roger Federer in the quarter finals. If he gets to the semis, he'll be seeded to play Rafael Nadal and then in the final, he would be due to play Novak Djokovic.

That is one tough round of matches from the fourth round onwards.

***PatHead*** · 16-01-2015 08:55 AM

Originally Posted by Trig

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Murray has been handed a pretty hard draw.

He should get through the first three rounds without too much trouble.

He plays a qualifier in round one and then will either play Marinko Matosevic or another qualifier in the second round. He'll then potentially play Martin Klizan in round three.

However it will then probably get a whole lot harder.

He will possibly play Grigor Dimitrov in the last 16, the man who hammered him at Wimbledon last year. If he manages to get past him, he's due to face Roger Federer in the quarter finals. If he gets to the semis, he'll be seeded to play Rafael Nadal and then in the final, he would be due to play Novak Djokovic.

That is one tough round of matches from the fourth round onwards.

No matter where he is seeded he never seems to get an easy draw. Would be an amazing achievement to beat Federer, Nadal then Djokovic

**Sir David Gray** · 16-01-2015 10:56 AM

Originally Posted by PatHead

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No matter where he is seeded he never seems to get an easy draw. Would be an amazing achievement to beat Federer, Nadal then Djokovic

It certainly would.

Dimitrov wouldn't be easy either.

**HUTCHYHIBBY** · 16-01-2015 01:38 PM

Gary Anderson proved it was possible to overcome a tough draw by beating last years finalists in the quarter and semi final before taking care of Phil Taylor in the final of the PDC World Champs.

Go for it Andy!

***Danderhall Hibs*** · 16-01-2015 10:31 PM

He needs to get his world ranking up so he avoid draws like this.

What ever happened to Falkirk Hibee? Is he now trig or does trig just write his posts in a similar style?

**Sir David Gray** · 16-01-2015 11:00 PM

Originally Posted by Danderhall Hibs

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He needs to get his world ranking up so he avoid draws like this.

What ever happened to Falkirk Hibee? Is he now trig or does trig just write his posts in a similar style?

Falkirk Hibee's dead, long live Falkirk Hibee.

I changed my username about a year ago after the death of Roger Lloyd-Pack, who I loved in Only Fools and Horses.

Agree with your first point.

He needs to try to at least get into the top four again so that he doesn't meet the likes of Dimitrov in the last 16 and that he doesn't meet the big boys until the semis.

***Danderhall Hibs*** · 17-01-2015 10:46 AM

Originally Posted by Trig

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Falkirk Hibee's dead, long live Falkirk Hibee.

I changed my username about a year ago after the death of Roger Lloyd-Pack, who I loved in Only Fools and Horses.

Agree with your first point.

He needs to try to at least get into the top four again so that he doesn't meet the likes of Dimitrov in the last 16 and that he doesn't meet the big boys until the semis.

Makes sense now! I though someone was using your trademark.

**heretoday** · 17-01-2015 08:51 PM

Always bet on Djokovic is my mantra. Do him in a win double with a well priced woman player.

**Sir David Gray** · 17-01-2015 09:29 PM

Originally Posted by heretoday

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Always bet on Djokovic is my mantra. Do him in a win double with a well priced woman player.

He's certainly got a very impressive record in Australia.

I personally wouldn't look past Djokovic for the title.

**Sir David Gray** · 18-01-2015 12:10 PM

Andy Murray plays his first match on Monday against Indian qualifier Yuki Bhambri.

His opponent is 22 and is currently ranked 317th in the world and is playing in the main draw of a Grand Slam for the first time in his career.

The match should be on around 1:30am UK time.

Although the match is on around 12:30pm local time, the temperature's not too bad for Monday, it should be a very pleasant 21 degrees.

I don't expect Murray to face too much resistance here.

***PatHead*** · 18-01-2015 05:55 PM

See 2 other British men made it into the finals, Kyle Edmund and Jamie Ward.

Never heard of Edmund before.

**Sir David Gray** · 18-01-2015 06:09 PM

Originally Posted by PatHead

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See 2 other British men made it into the finals, Kyle Edmund and Jamie Ward.

Never heard of Edmund before.

Edmund's had a very good junior record over the last three or four years, getting to at least the quarter finals in all four Grand Slam events. He's also won the Junior doubles event at both the French Open and US Open.

He's recently broken into the top 200 in the men's rankings and has qualified for the main draw of a Grand Slam through merit for the first time in his career.

I think he has a decent chance in his opening match against Steve Johnson. Johnson has never won a match at the Australian Open main draw although he has been unlucky in his previous two matches, losing both times in five sets.

He's ranked inside the top 40 in the world so he clearly has something about him but I think if Edmund plays the right way, he could do some damage.

He's only just turned 20 as well so he has plenty of time on his side.

**Sir David Gray** · 19-01-2015 11:09 AM

Good to see Murray getting off to a solid start in his first round match this morning.

He beat Yuki Bhambri in straight sets and will now play Marinko Matosevic in round two.

There were also straight sets wins for Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal.

**Sir David Gray** · 20-01-2015 09:11 PM

A bad day for the Brits on day two unfortunately.

Kyle Edmund, James Ward and Heather Watson all lost their first round matches meaning that Andy Murray is the last remaining British player in either the men's or women's draw after only two days of action.

Murray is in second round action on Wednesday against Marinko Matosevic.

Just like his first match, he should be in action around 1:30am UK time. However, unlike Monday it's to be a lot hotter and it should be around 30 degrees during the match.

Also in action is Roger Federer, who should be on around 3:30am against Simone Bolelli and Rafael Nadal is on at 8am against Tim Smyczek.

***PatHead*** · 20-01-2015 09:51 PM

Originally Posted by Trig

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A bad day for the Brits on day two unfortunately.

Kyle Edmund, James Ward and Heather Watson all lost their first round matches meaning that Andy Murray is the last remaining British player in either the men's or women's draw after only two days of action.

Murray is in second round action on Wednesday against Marinko Matosevic.

Just like his first match, he should be in action around 1:30am UK time. However, unlike Monday it's to be a lot hotter and it should be around 30 degrees during the match.

Also in action is Roger Federer, who should be on around 3:30am against Simone Bolelli and Rafael Nadal is on at 8am against Tim Smyczek.

Can't see Federer or Nadal having a problem, Murray will have to compete against a local crowd as well as his opponent.

**Sir David Gray** · 20-01-2015 10:05 PM

Originally Posted by PatHead

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Can't see Federer or Nadal having a problem, Murray will have to compete against a local crowd as well as his opponent.

Yep Federer and Nadal should both win without any problem. I think Murray will win in straight sets as well to be honest.

He's played Matosevic twice before and hasn't lost a set so far. He's a fairly limited player and he had never been past the first round at the Australian Open before this year.

I can see the first set possibly being close but I would be surprised if he manages to take a set from Murray.

**HUTCHYHIBBY** · 21-01-2015 08:35 AM

6-1, 6-3, 6-2 for Murray in just under 1 3/4 hrs.

**Sir David Gray** · 21-01-2015 09:07 AM

Obviously didn't see any of the match but i'm glad to see Murray got through that match so quickly considering how hot it was.

He now plays Joao Sousa in round three.

Federer beat Bolelli despite losing the first set after suffering an issue with his finger.

Nadal currently one set all against Tim Smyczek and 3-3 in the third set.