Besides Djokovic, who is defending his Australian Open title this year, there are two strong contenders in the absence of Rafael Nadal: Andy Murray and Roger Federer.
Roger Federer, the world no.2 and 17 times Grand Slam winner is eyeing the Australian Open title to add yet another feather in his cap before his age starts taking a heavy toll of his fitness and form. Already Federer has disclosed that he will be playing selectively and practicing more so as to preserve his longevity.
Although he has dominated 2012 by and large, the new year would tell how long and how far he can go.
As for his first round match with 43rd ranked French Benoit Paire, who is eight years younger to him, Federer has played against him only once at Basel in 2012 in the quarters and won 6-2 6-2. And it was at Basel that Federer lost to Juan Martin Del Potro 6-4 6-7(5) 7-6(3).
Paire pn the other hand has lost four of his last ten matches, latest being against Y Lu at Auckland and against R. Bautista-Agut at Chennai. He is a likely prey of the world no.2 when they meet Tuesday tomorrow.
The first round of Australian Open Match between Federer and Paire is scheduled for Tuesday, 15 January 2013 at 04:00 GMT on the Rod Laver Arena.
The first round of Australian Open Match between Azarenka and Niculescu is scheduled for Tuesday, 15 January 2013 at 02:30 GMT on the Rod Laver Arena.
If you are one of the fans located at different destination and miss the chance to visit the stadium to watch your favorite team, You can now watch the match live on your laptop or desktop computer, FREE, provided you have an internet connection, from the links given below:
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