Australian Open Draw released today

[Borry]

http://www.australianopen.com/en_AU/scores/draws/ms/r1s2.html

Done some predictions of all games played in the first round and beyond and based on those I reckon

Mens Singles - Agassi/Federer V Nalbandian/Hewitt/Roddick

Womens Singles - either VWilliams/Davenport/Dementieva/Myskina V SWilliams/Sharapova/Kuznetsova

Possible Molik/VWilliams showdown in the fourth round

Hewitt may not meet a tough seeded player until the quarters where he may meet Coria/Nalbandian. Possible SF clash with roddick and Final with federer/Agassi if he has a great run.

Possible Agassi/Johansson showdown in the fourth round. Now I reckon that could be interesting. Joachim is a darkhorse for a win over this great player if it happens if he plays his best.

If Agassi gets up then we may have a Federer/Agassi blockbuster in the quarters.

Safin. Second round Ivo Karlovic and if he gets up a third round clash with possibly Ancic. All big serve volleyers and could be tough for Safin.

I tell more later.

 

[Bomber Spirit]

Arnaud Clement must think he's jinxed. After going down to Lleyton Hewitt in Adelaide and again in Sydney, he's drawn Lleyton again in the opening round this time.
One value match for grounds pass holders in the first couple of days is Greg Rusedski v Jonas Bjorkman. It's a strong field when neither of them is seeded, that should be a good match. The winner probably gets Andy Roddick in round 2.

 

[Russian]

Well all this could change depending on which of the 8 seeds in doubt drop out but...

Men's draw
First quarter
* Federer starts against Santoro which won't necessarily be easy, Santoro's one of those players who lifts against the better players and doesn't give up, but he'll still probably lose 1, 2 and 1 .
* Draper starts against number 13 seed Tommy Robredo, the winner to play a qualifier, lucky loser or wildcard.
*In the other half, Joachim Johansson starts against Sjeng Schalken, Aussie wildcard Paul Baccanello against another seed, number 24 Feliciano Lopez.
*Also in this section, Taylor Dent and Andre Agassi who both start against qualifiers.
* Pretty strong section but wouldn't expect anyone to trouble Federer. Dent and Johansson could face each other again in the third round, Enqvist another one to watch in that group of 8.
Second quarter
* A few big hitters in the first 8 of this group, with Safin and Karlovic set for a 2nd round clash, and Ancic to play the winner in the third round.
* Todd Reid's in this section, starting against Karol Beck before Tommy Haas in the second round
* Dominik Hrbaty starts against Robin Soderling, while another Aussie, Peter Luczak, has drawn a seed, Thomas Johansson, in the first round. The winner to most likely play Mirnyi then Moya.
* Expect the winner of the battle of the first 8 to win a semi final berth
Third quarter
* Best possible draw Lleyton Hewitt could have. This section's packed with clay courters, with Ferrero, Nalbandian and Youzhny the most likely to cause trouble.
* Hewitt starts against Arnaud Clement, while Wayne Arthurs plays number 25 seed Juan Ignacio Chela and wildcard Marc Kimmich plays Mariano Zabaleta. Arthurs could play Hewitt in the third round.
* Lleyton's spot in the semis to lose
Fourth quarter
* Sydney semi-finalist Radek Stepanek provides a tough opener for 19th seed Vince Spadea.
* Chris Guccione not without a chance against Guillermo Canas.
* Sebastien Grosjean starts against compatriot Michael Llodra, the winner to play either a qualifier or another Frenchman - Richard Gasquet.
* Nathan Healey is the other Aussie in this section, Flavio Saretta his first opponent.
* Bjorkman and Rusedski could be interesting, but the winner will have to face Andy Roddick unless Irakli Labadze can pull off a first round upset

 

[Russian]

Women's draw
First quarter
* Davenport starts against Martinez who can beat anyone on her day.
* Casey Dellacqua starts against number 31 seed Jelena Kostanic, Evie Dominikovic against Mara Santangelo, Monique Adamczak against 13th seed Karolina Sprem, Nicolle Pratt against 23rd seed Jelena Jankovic.
* Alicia Molik plays Anabel Medina Garrigues in the first round, then a qualifier in the second.
* Venus Williams has a challenging start against Eleni Daniilidou, then Sydney semi-finalist Peng Shuai
* Strong section but Davenport, Molik and Venus appear strongest as their rankings suggest. Not much separating them, Venus has the toughest path to the round of 16.
Second quarter
* Myskina and Dementieva are the top seeds in this section, Hantuchova also in it, winner won't come from here
Third quarter
* Kuznetsova and Sharapova stand out in this section, they both start against qualifiers
* Challengers include Mary Pierce and Vera Zvonareva.
Fourth quarter
* This is where the rest of the Aussies are.
* Cindy Watson starts against Indian wildcard Sania Mirza but probably won't beat Mandula or Pennetta in the second round, and won't beat Serena in the third.
* Sophie Ferguson plays Nuria Llagostera Vives in the first, Petrova or Razzano if she wins.
* Sam Stosur will probably need her run of opponents retiring to continue to make the second round, starts against Mauresmo. The winner plays Dinara Safina or Zheng Jie.
* Looks reasonably easy for Mauresmo and Serena to play off in the quarters

 

[Total Power]

Guccione is an abolsute dud.With that serve he will be looking to improve on his return games.He cant even win tie breaks these days (and he barely ever breaks anyone), look at this challenger and uncle tobys record.. most of the tie breaks lost because the dud cant return.A big server should always/most of the time, win the breaker

 

[kingsleyhunter]

Should be a Federer/Agassi/Moya vs. Nalbandian/Roddick Final. Hot tip is Moya vs. Nalbandian Final. Federer doesnt have as many easy games this draw as he has in previous tournaments and will struggle to reach the final. Moya with by far the easiest draw possible, with only 1 hard game possibly against Marat Safin. If Roddick is to reach the final he will have to beat names like Canas, Grosjean, Melzer, Rusedski/Bjorkman and Labadze in the first round and would be quite an effort if he wins it. Nalbandian will have to beat Coria/Ferrero and Youzhny/Pavel/Hewitt to make it. As for the Lleyton Hewitt lovers, he isnt in for a winning tournament with a possibility of going out first round. If he does so happen to make it further im quite sure Nalbandian will knock him out staright away.

My Moneys on Nalbandian ($10) and Moya ($20)