 And
They’re Off
The year kicked off with another memorable fortnight Down Under as Roger Federer claimed his tenth Grand Slam singles crown and Serena Williams pulled off one of the most unexpected runs in recent memory to capture her eighth major title.
Recap all the action at TENNIS.com’s Australian Open archive.
Federer’s untroubled progress through the draw reignited talk of the Swiss No. 1 potentially winning the Grand Slam this season. Also up for grabs is a ‘Federer Slam’ (four majors in a row) or a career Slam (winning each major at least once). All, however, hinge on winning the next Slam event: Roland Garros, the only one of the four which has proven elusive for Federer so far. But with no challengers currently in sight, he’ll definitely step on the Parisian clay as one of the favorites.
If Federer winning in Melbourne was no surprise, his opponent in the final certainly was. Fernando Gonzalez put up a series of spectacular performances to record his career-best Grand Slam result, defeating Lleyton Hewitt, James Blake, Rafael Nadal, and Tommy Haas along the way. Davis Cup and a home event in Vina del Mar have kept the double Olympic medalist busy since then, but he’ll be trying to continue his late-blooming rise in the months ahead.
Also looking to make a charge will be Andy Roddick. After a tough defeat to Federer in the Melbourne semifinals, he rebounded nicely by leading the U.S. to its first Davis Cup World Group win on foreign clay in a decade. In fact, it’s been a good season for the American men so far, with James Blake winning a title in Sydney, Mardy Fish and Robby Ginepri returning to form after some tough times, and youngster Sam Querry continuing to leap up the rankings at an impressive pace.
The American women have also experienced a sudden resurgence in the shape of Serena Williams. Ranked No. 81 going into the event, she collected the scalps of Nadia Petrova, Jelena Jankovic and Nicole Vaidisova before demolishing top seed Maria Sharapova in the final and ended the fortnight at No. 14.
Williams has not played since withdrawing from Bangalore and Dubai with the flu. But sister Venus, absent from the tour since Wimbledon, is making her return this week at Memphis and aiming to “be like Serena.”
Justine Henin is also making her return after missing the Australian swing because of the breakup of her marriage, while fellow Belgian Kim Clijsters is winding down her career as she prepares to get married in mid-July.
An interesting year is shaping up.
 Coast
to Coast
While there are plenty of veterans holding strong in both the men’s and women’s game, this could be the year several rising talents make their mark. This month, we run through the “hotshots” making their way up
here.
Rafael Nadal is the most accomplished of the group, but the next few months will tell us a lot about whether he’ll maintain his status at the head of the pack. Andy Murray and Novak Djokovic have already both won titles this year and are looking to make an impact at the bigger events. Read about Murray’s goals and plans in this
interview.
Others featured in the “hotshots” section are Jelena Jankovic, Tomas Berdych, Richard Gasquet, Nicole Vaidisova, Rafael Nadal, Marcos Baghdatis, Gael Monfils and Ana Ivanovic. Also check out the profiles of American up-and-comers Querrey and Vania King.
Their next chance to bid for glory will come at the U.S spring hardcourt events held in March at Indian Wells and Miami. TENNIS.com will have exclusive on-site coverage of both events—check the homepage for more details in the weeks ahead.
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