2010 Australian Open - Men's Singles Draw Predictions

For the men's singles titles, I believe there are seven different players that have a shot of lifting the trophy by the end of the 2010 Australian Open. They also happen to be the top seven ranked men in the world. Here's a breakdown of the men's singles draw by quadrant, and my predictions on which players will perform the best.

Top Half – 1st Quadrant
Top Performers: #1 Roger Federer, #6 Nikolay Davydenko, #9 Fernando Verdasco
Will Not Meet Seeding: #17 David Ferrer
Unseeded Surprise: Marcos Baghdatis

Sure, Davydenko has beaten Federer in their last two tournaments but would he be able to take out the world #1 in a five setter at a grand slam quarterfinal? I'm sure Federer's insane streak of 20+ straight Grand Slam semifinals appearances will end, but it wouldn't be in this tournament. Look out to for former Australian Open finalist, Baghdatis to do some damage. He's coming into Melbourne with a tournament win at Sydney.

Top Half – 2nd Quadrant

Top Performers: #3 Novak Djokovic, #10 Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, #8 Robin Soderling
Will Not Meet Seeding: #16 Tommy Robredo
Unseeded Surprise: Richard Gasquet

Soderling has been eliminated in the past three grand slams by Federer, but I'm giving the nod to Tsonga, a former AO finalist to win their potential fourth rounder. I'm betting for Gasquet to make it to the fourth round. It would be a big upset if Djokovic will not reach the semifinals.

Bottom Half – 3rd Quadrant

Top Performers: #7 Andy Roddick, #4 Juan Martin del Potro, #14 Marin Cilic
Will Not Meet Seeding: #11 Fernando Gonzalez
Unseeded Surprise: Evgeny Korolev

Roddick has reached 4 previous semifinals here and I think he will overcome a not so healthy Del Potro in the quarterfinals. It's tough to pick against Gonzalez not to reach the fourth round, but he has the least impressive recent results. As for my unseeded surprise, didn't Korolev do well in the Hopman Cup?

Bottom Half – 4th Quadrant

Top Performers: #7 Andy Murray, #2 Rafael Nadal, #12 Gael Monfils
Will Not Meet Seeding: #13 Radek Stepanek
Unseeded Surprise: Ivo Karlovic

Nadal may be seeded #2 and is the defending champion, but he hasn't beaten a top player in such a long time. His last tournament win was in April 2009. Murray is a great hard court player and is coming into the tournament without any health issues. He'll represent this quadrant in the semis. Look out for Karlovic to oust Stepanek in the first round.

Top Three Picks

#1. Roger Federer. It's tough to pick against the Fed. It will be a grueling task to get past Davydenko and Djokovic just to reach the finals but he'll pass the test with flying colors and add Grand Slam #16 to his collection.

#2. Andy Murray. Same with Federer – he'll have to go pass Nadal and Roddick, two potential winners just to reach the finals. But I feel that he is just so talented to keep on losing before the semifinals. If Federer is playing below 90%, he may even win his first major here.

#3. Novak Djokovic. He can give Federer a headache any given day. He already has beaten the #1 player in the semifinals of the Australian Open on his way to his first grand slam title in 2008. It will be a close match. If Federer is off and he will be in the finals against any player not named Murray, he'll be my favorite to win his second Australian Open.