By Randy Walker
@TennisPublisher
Who can stop Novak Djokovic and what’s gonna happen with Serena Williams?
These are the two major themes as the 2016 tennis season begins at the Australian Open in Melbourne.
Novak Djokovic has won the Australian Open five times – exactly half of his career major tournament haul of 10 – and will be looking for a sixth Australian title that would tie him for most men’s singles titles all-time with Roy Emerson.
Serena Williams hasn’t played a sanctioned match since the US Open last September, which ended in her semifinal loss to Roberta Vinci which ended her bid for a Grand Slam – the sweep of all four major singles titles in a calendar year. Williams won the previous three major titles in 2015 starting at the Australian Open one year ago when she beat Maria Sharapova in the final for her sixth singles title Down Under. Will Williams be able to continue her amazing form of dominance she exhibited in 2014 where she lost only three matches during the year or will she, at age 34, start to lose ground in inevitable losing battle with Father Time, surrendering her space to the likes of Simona Halep, Garbine Muguruza, Aga Radwanska or others.
DJokovic, like Williams, also won three majors in 2015 and observers are talking of him potentially making a run at a Grand Slam in 2016. He’s reached the final of every tournament he’s played the last 52 weeks and his only major blemish from 2015 was his final-round loss to Stan Wawrinka at Roland Garros.
The player, likely, with the best chance of upsetting Djokovic’s apple cart is Andy Murray. The Scot has reached the Australian Open final four times (2010, 2011, 2013, 2015, losing the last three finals to Djokovic) and seems to play his best tennis at Melbourne Park. He’s buoyed by leading Great Britain to its first Davis Cup title since 1936 in November and appears primed to rise to the occasion and threaten Djokovic in 2016. Many questions surround Rafael Nadal entering 2016 after the Spaniard struggled in 2015, not winning a major title and his ranking dropping out of the Top 5. Roger Federer, at age 34, may be running out of chances to win one more major singles title to add to his record men’s tally of 17 and his countryman Stan Wawrinka will also be a contender in 2016 after winning at Roland Garros in 2015 and at the Australian Open in 2014.
