Who do you think will win the Australian Open, 2015?

1) Roger Federer

Having recently won the Brisbane Open,2015 and with it, winning his 1000th match, the World No.2 Roger Federer is in great shape and form, and looks strong to have a good shot at the title.

His greatest strength right now is his confidence. After a brilliant 2014 which saw him coming back to World No.2, reaching the ATP World Tour Finals(but later withdrawing after a back injury) and also winning his first Davis Cup title for Switzerland, he is set to continue his great run into 2015 as well. His experience of hard court will help him get past his opponents with ease. Besides Federer has the amazing capability of easily getting back into the game even after being two sets down.

His biggest weakness right now is his age. Anytime anything goes bad for him and the issue of his age is raised. He is 33 years old now, and yet hasn’t shown any signs of backing down or aging or maybe a fatigued body. He still manages to play with the strength or the class that he used to play in his prime years.

He’s already won four Australian Open titles, the last one being in 2010. Having last won a grand slam in 2012, he has a good chance this time to continue his form of the Brisbane Open into the Australian Open and go on to win his fifth Australian Open title and coming back to glory. It’s a  good stage for Federer to kick start his 2015 campaign with a bang!

With fitness issues for Nadal and Murray, his biggest threat as of now is the fellow Swiss -Stan Wawrinka and the current world No.1 Novak Djokovic. Djokovic will look to win his fifth Australian Open, continue his great run of 2014 into 2015 as well. He has a relatively easy draw before him. He is scheduled to face Murray in QF and then Nadal later in Semi-finals. But considering the fitness and form of both these players, Federer might easily get past them.

2) Rafael Nadal

Being absent from 2013 season for large, the Australian Open, 2014 was a comeback tournament for Rafael Nadal. It was the stage where he had to prove to his critics his fitness, his grandeur and moreover to everyone who doubted whether he’ll ever play or not.  Move one year ahead, and not much has changed.

He has nothing to lose as of now. Nobody knows how he’ll play, his fitness and form at present is a big question mark for anyone. This grand slam has been particularly unlucky for Nadal with a single title win in 2009, having lost two finals-one in 2012, an epic 5 hour 53 minutes long match, against Djokovic and one in 2014, to Wawrinka having had a troubled lower back.

Having suffering an early round exit from the Brisbane Open early this year, he has to up his game to stand a chance to win the title. His greatest weakness is his form and his fitness. He’s been out of most of the 2014 season owing to fitness issues.

This year is a big opportunity for him to put all the criticisms he has faced due to his form and fitness to an end and add to his bag of 14 Grand Slam titles, a second Australian Open title. But he has a huge mountain before him to climb.

Every match along the road is a threat for Nadal considering he has played only eight matches in the last seven months managing to win only four. Plagued by constant injuries and ongoing poor form, Nadal himself said that he needs matches and he needs wins to gain back his confidence. Although he doesn’t face any big seed until the fourth round, he might meet up Lukas Rasol famous for throwing Nadal out of Wimbledon, 2012. He faces a relatively easy draw, something he wouldn’t mind. But every match will be a challenge for him, a steep climb which he must make to not give Australian Open an upset in the form of his early exit.

3) Novak Djokovic

Moving towards his fifth Australian Open, the Serbian World No.1 Novak Djokovic has the strongest chances of claiming the title. He has the easiest of draws among all the top contenders- his only tough opponent will be in Semi-final-either Kei Nishikori, the man who beat him in US Open semi finals, 2014 or defending champion Stan Wawrinka and hence avoids both Federer and Nadal up until the final. He is confident and completely fit. He is at the peak of his game right now and beating him might be the biggest challenge for all the other contenders.

He has had a shaky start to 2015 getting knocked out of the Quarterfinals of the Qatar Open by World No.7, Ivo Karlovic. He had a tremendous 2014 winning 7 titles in total, but the QF loss could well harm his confidence. Other than that, there is very little that shall come his way.

After a golden 2014, Novak Djokovic has some heavy expectations on his shoulders as we move towards the first big tournament of the season. Aiming towards his fifth Australian Open, it will be an easy road for him up until the final stages considering the draw he has been set in. It is a good chance for him to add another Australian Open to his bag of nine grand slams already.

His biggest threats include Stan Wawrinka and Rafael Nadal. He has an impressive record against Wawrinka, leading by 16-3 but last year’s QF defeat against the reigning champion might lower down his confidence while playing against him. The other man-Rafael Nadal, though out of form and with poor fitness, leads 23-19 though Djokovic leading by 14-7 in hard courts. They both share a fierce intense rivalry and Australian Open will always be marked special in that rivalry considering the epic  5 hour 53 minutes 2012 final between the two which ultimately Djokovic won. If Nadal strengthens his game, he could become a serious threat to Djokovic.

4) Stan Wawrinka

The World No.4, reigning Australian Open champion has everything to lose at this point. Winning here his first grand slam last year against Rafael Nadal, he has some huge expectations upon him.

He arrives in Australia as the defending champion. The more he hears this, the more confident he will be. Having recently won the Chennai Open, he is confident and is at his top form. He has a stamina that can outlast anyone and hardly succumbs under pressure.  His serves and backhands are apparently his strengths.

He has a relatively difficult draw. He could face 27th seed Pablo Cuevas in fourth round itself with probability of Nishikori in the QF, Djokovic in the semis and Nadal or Federer in finals. These big guns will make sure that Wawrinka has to work really hard in order to defend his title. Apart from the Australian Open, Wawrinka failed to impress much in the entire 2014, crashing out in the first round of Wimbledon only. He can play those big long five setters but most of the times is not able to convert his good performance in the match into a win. He needs to find that extra something to convert his good performances into wins.

He has a lot to prove to all his fans and moreover to all his critics that declare him a “one hit wonder” and Australian Open, 2015 is just the right place to do it. It is a very big opportunity for him. With loads of expectations to bear, everyone will be looking to him during the start of tournament trying to judge his game and form. With a relatively dull 2014 if we exclude the Australian Open, it is a good chance for Wawrinka to regain the lost glory. He stands a good chance to defend his title successfully and silence all the critics.

His biggest threat as of now is the semi-final match where he might play against the World No. 1 Novak Djokovic. He has a poor record against him, trailing by 3-16. Wawrinka and Djokovic have shared some of the finest five setters between them. Wawrinka defeated the then defending champion, Djokovic in the semis to book his spot in the finals. This year, Djokovic will be all ready to have his revenge and make up for last year. If Wawrinka can move past this fear of Djokovic, he might be able to do wonders at the tournament and even defend his title!

5) Andy Murray

Britain’s World No.1 and World No. 6 currently, Andy Murray for the first time since winning his Wimbledon title in 2013, stands a chance to win a major Grand Slam again. He is no favourite for this year’s title and certainly he has nothing to lose, which might be his biggest strength in the tournament. His morale is upbeat even after having a troubled 2014 and plays this year with new training partner and fitness coach. He has fully recovered from his lower back surgery in late 2013 and has no fitness issues. He has had an encouraging start of the season with an amazing win over Nadal and three wins later in the Hopman Cup.

Troubled 2014 season meant he only managed four ATP titles in the entire year, slumped down to a ranking as low as No.10 and lost some easy matches down the road. He still needs time to adapt to his new support staff after having worked with his last training partner for five years and fitness coach for seven years.

Australian Open, 2015 is the biggest opportunity for him to get back to his form, gain his confidence and rise up in the rankings. His injuries and recovery from surgery kept him out of major grand slam hunt in 2014, but this year a lot of hopes lie on him from the Brit fans. Having reached the finals of Australian Open three times and yet not being able to win the tournament, this year might be the one where he finally is able to do it, and return to glory!

His biggest threat to him is his draw. He is placed in the same half as Rafael Nadal who himself is in poor form but has a good record against the Brit, leading by 15-5. His potential QF opponent might be Roger Federer who recently in the ATP World Tour Finals, 2014 defeated him with a score line 6-0, 6-1-Murray’s worst loss since 2007. Murray is also scheduled to play Grigor Dimitrov in the fourth round, who he lost to Wimbledon QF last year. Thus he has a very steep road to climb before him.