The Week in Preview: Sydney, Auckland, Hobart

After a flying start, the new tennis season slows back down during week two. Most of the the game’s single-name stars—Nole, Roger, Rafa, Serena, and Maria—are in practice-and-promote mode before the year’s first major, the Australian Open, begins next Monday. But there are still four tune-up events on tap, and one of them—the women’s event in Sydney—should tell us a little more about what might happen down the road in Melbourne.

Sydney, Australia
$731,000; WTA Premier
Plexicushion
Draw is here

Simona Halep and Petra Kvitova are the top two seeds here, just as they were in Shenzhen last week. Halep held up her end of the deal at that event by reaching, and winning, the final, but Kvitova was upset in the semis. Can they keep their date in Sydney?

It will be tough, because this tournament has drawn a quality crowd. That shouldn’t be too surprising; the Apia International is Premier-level, and the women who’ve decided to play are the women who decide to play pretty much every week: Aga Radwanska, Caroline Wozniacki, Angelique Kerber, and Dominika Cibulkova are the next four seeds, respectively.

Of course, don't be surprised if a player or two pulls out along the way. The week before a Slam can be a bad time to be a tournament director (as you'll see below).

Things to be curious about:

—Halep won in Shenzhen, which was obviously a great start for the world No. 3. Does she risk making that start a little too great for her own good if she goes deep here and comes to Melbourne already match-weary?

—Kvitova has talked about her determination to be more of a consistent threat in 2015; does an early loss here make that look even less likely going forward?

—Radwanska is 0-8 against Serena Williams in official WTA matches, but she did beat her in the Hopman Cup exhibition last week. Has Aga already improved with Martina Navratilova as her coach? We’ll get a real look here.

—How will Wozniacki bounce back from a disappointing final-round loss to Venus Williams in Auckland, in a match where she won the first set?

Making her season debut: Garbine Muguruza, who pulled out last week with an ankle injury.

Already gone: Belinda Benic, to Daria Gavrilova, 6-3, 6-0. We’ll see how the teen hot shot does now that the rest of the tour has had a look at her for a full season.

First-round matches to watch:

—Carla Suarez-Navarro vs. Sabine Lisicki

—Elina Svitolina vs. Ekaterina Makarova

—Alizé Cornet vs. Radwanska

—Barbora Zahlavova Strycova vs. Wozniacki. They played a three-setter last week in Auckland.

Sydney, Australia
$494,310; 250 ranking points
Plexicushion
Draw is here

When it comes to money and marquee names, the men can’t match the women in Sydney. The ATP’s purse is $300,000 smaller than the WTA’s, and Fabio Fognini is the top seed, followed by David Goffin, Philipp Kohlschreiber, and Julien Benneteau.

There is one name of note here, though: Juan Martin del Potro. He’ll be returning to the tour for the first time in 11 months, after undergoing wrist surgery last winter. Delpo says he just wants to compete again; we’ll see how quickly he gets back into the (big) swing of things in his opener against Sergiy Stakhovsky.

Also here: 2013 Sydney champ Bernard Tomic

First-round match to watch: Jerzy Janowicz vs. Nick Kyrgios

Auckland, New Zealand
$519,395; 250 ranking points
Plexicushion
Draw is here

I said earlier that it’s hard to be a tournament director the week before a major. It’s really hard to be the TD in Auckland this week, as two of the event’s attractions, Gael Monfils and John Isner, pulled out at the last minute, for less-than-entirely-convincing reasons. Isner said he was tired after a "big week" of singles and mixed at the Hopman Cup exo in Perth. Monfils said he had tried and failed to be ready in time—then showed up over the weekend in Melbourne, ready to practice. If that wasn't enough, top seed David Ferrer also withdrew after his title run in Doha.

The top two players who did make it to Auckland are Tommy Robredo and Ernests Gulbis.

First-round match to watch: Borna Coric vs. Pablo Carreño Busta. Possible players of the future, today.

Hobart, Australia
$250,000; WTA International
Plexicushion
Draw is here

There aren’t any bankable stars in Hobart, but there are some improving players: The first three seeds, Casey Dellacqua, Zarina Diyas, and Camilia Giorgi, have all been on the rise for the last 12 months.

The fifth seed, Sloane Stephens, did not see her ranking rise last season, of course; she dropped from No. 12 to No. 37. Two years after reaching the Aussie Open semis, she’s back in rebuilding mode. But she may have already faced down her scariest opponent of the week:

American to (possibly) watch: Lauren Davis. The world No. 54 had a good run in Auckland. She opens with the top seed, Dellacqua, here.