Djokovic is chasing his sixth title after beating Andy Murray in last year’s final, while Williams, battling a knee injury, is after her seventh Australian crown.
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The tournament gets underway on 18 January in Melbourne.
The 28-year-old has lost four times in the Australian Open final including last year, where Djokovic defeated him to enjoy his current reign. Since 2010, the Australian Open has been by far Murray’s most consistent slam.
The 2009 Australian Open remains Rafael Nadal’s lone triumph at the season’s first major.
He will play South Korean Hyeon Chung in the opening round.
It’s been almost a half century since Rod Laver scored the last men’s calendar-year Grand Slam, but seven-time major victor Mats Wilander is boldly predicting that streak will end in 2016.
Djokovic filmed the clip with Jacob’s Creek ahead of the Australian Open to give fans a glimpse of his life off the court.
It was only when told they had to hand back the trophies that Djokovic replied, half-jokingly, “What do you mean they’re not ours?”
The main draw starts on Monday in Melbourne, meaning it will start on Sunday evening for those in North America. Most players in the top 10 have withdrawn from a tournament or retired from a match in the first two weeks of the season.
On the women’s side, 2008 champion Maria Sharapova is the No. 5 seed, while two-time former champion Victoria Azarenka is seeded No 14.
“She’s got a bounce to her step”, Tiley said of Azarenka.
Stopping him at his Melbourne Park fortress is becoming virtually impossible.
“Everything is actually really well”.
“My body is feeling great now”, she said this week.
“As for fatherhood, all you have to do is look at Djokovic who is one week younger, and he’s playing unbelievable tennis since he’s had a son”, added the ESPN pundit, also a former coach of Andre Agassi. I thought maybe Mauresmo and Bjorkman would continue as a team.
Defending champion Serena Williams is the strong favourite to retain her title.
Romanian second seed Simona Halep, who faces a qualifier first up, is drawn to meet Serena’s elder sister and eighth seed Venus Williams in the quarters.
While much was made of Serena Williams’ near miss of the Grand Slam, Djokovic was only one defeat from a flawless Grand Slam season, too.
Nadal is looking to become the first man in the Open Era to win all four Grand Slam singles titles twice.
“It’s true that during my career I have been a little bit unlucky in this tournament”, Nadal said. Since I know this sport, I never saw somebody playing at this level.
Aljaz Bedene, the British No2, has a first-round meeting with world No32 Steve Johnson, while British No3 Kyle Edmund, who is competing in a Grand Slam event by dint of his world ranking for the first time, faces world No81, Damir Dzumhur.
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She is one of the few players with the power and speed to consistently challenge world number one Williams, who she pushed to a deciding set in each of their three matches past year while ostensibly still on the comeback trail.
