Australian Open 2012 TV Schedule: Highlighting Most Exciting Week 1 Matches

With the draws set and qualifiers beginning, the games for the Australian Open are basically underway.  We all can't wait to see who will emerge as a dark horse and more importantly, who will win the grand prize in Melbourne.

Still, we've got quite a long way to go before we get to that point.  A lot of people brush off first-round matches without giving them a second look, but what sense does that make?

Even some of the top players in this tournament have fallen in the first round of the Australian Open in the past.  Those players include Maria Sharapova, Andy Murray, and both of last year's champions, Kim Clijsters and Novak Djokovic.

Now, I'm sure some of you are saying to yourself, "Okay, so what if Djokovic made a first round exit almost a decade ago?  He was young."

Ah, yes!  He was!  And that is part of the excitement.  Which of the young players will finally burst onto the scene and make themselves known?

This list of nine matches will be some of the more exciting first-round bouts.

Kim Clijsters (11) vs. Qualifier

Now, what about this match could I possibly think is going to be exciting?  Here we have Kim Clijsters, the defending champion and 11th-ranked woman in the world, facing someone who had to qualify just to get into the first round.  Why should anyone expect this game to be anything but a squash?

Well, the truth is, it might be.

However, Clijsters is entering what could be her final season, and after seeing some of her play in the Brisbane International a couple of weeks ago, signs of slowing down are approaching fast.  She was eliminated in the semifinal round by Daniela Hantuchova, despite having dominated the first set.

Over the past couple of years, Clijsters has battled a myriad of injuries, ranging from abdominal issues to ankle complications.  The simple fact here is that whoever she plays may be able to take advantage of what is becoming a worn-down athlete.

If Clijsters' body can hold up, she may have one last Grand Slam title in her.  Given her last showing in Brisbane, where she had to retire in the second set, I can only assume that her body is beginning to throw in the towel, making for a much less talented woman on the court.

Tomas Berdych (7) vs. Albert Ramos

On paper, Albert Ramos doesn't seem to match up well with Tomas Berdych.  While I don't think Ramos is a bad athlete, the reason this match will be exciting is because of Berdych.

What do I mean by that?  Well, since being in the Aussie Open quarterfinals a year ago, Berdych has sort of lost his way.  He lost in the first round of the French Open, fourth round of Wimbledon and third round of the U.S. Open.

That doesn't make someone the seventh-best male tennis player in the world.  Simply put, Berdych is overrated.

When he comes to Melbourne to meet Ramos, he's going to be meeting a man who showed promise in 2011.  He wasn't a frequent winner, but he wasn't constantly blown away either.  He lacks in speed, but he makes up for it in accuracy.

Ramos could walk out of this one with the upset.

Mardy Fish (8) vs. Gilles Muller

Mardy Fish has all the talent and promise in the world.  Unfortunately for him, he's a hot head.

Fish has made a name for himself as being a bitter, angry man on the court, and fans repeatedly get under his skin.  He cannot afford to let that happen when he comes face to face with Gilles Muller.

While Muller has no wins of notes, he has faced the likes of Andy Murray and John Isner before and taken at least a set from each of them.  Small victories, people, small victories. 

It's also worth noting that these two men met last July at the ATP Farmers Classic.  Fish won 7-6 (7-1), 6-1.  Yes, Fish did win, but Muller was right there in the thick of it until he tired in the second set. 

Muller has made a bit of a career out of doing that at times, which I assume is the majority of the reason he can win the first set but completely drop following sets.  Anyway, the point here is that Fish and Muller will have a tightly contested battle.

The x-factors?  Fish's temper and Muller's stamina.

Samantha Stosur (6) vs. Sorana Cirstea

The hometown girl, Samantha Stosur, will walk into Melbourne as the crowd's favorite, but she also has no momentum, having lost her first match of 2012.

She was knocked out of the first round (and with ease, I might add) of the Sydney International against Francesca Schiavone.  Is Schiavone bad?  No, but Stosur is the reigning U.S. Open champion, and that wasn't a good start to the season.

Nonetheless, Stosur is ranked sixth and has a first-round date with the Romanian Sorana Cirstea.  This is another name that no one outside of Romania will recognize, but you've got to give props to Cirstea.

She was 42-24 in 2011, despite poor performances in the U.S. Open and Wimbledon.  Cirstea is one of the smaller women in the Australian Open, but this makes her more agile than some of the taller ladies.  She proved last year that she can have one of the better forehands in the WTA.

With Stosur having faltered recently and Cirstea trying to move up the ladder, the hometown favorite could be sent packing right away.

Li Na (5) vs. Ksenia Pervak

After years of trying to break into the game, Li Na really made a name for herself in 2011, as she was the runner-up in the Australian Open and won the French Open.  It appeared that a new dominant force was coming to play.

Then we watched as she struggled to get past round two in the last two Grand Slam tournaments of the year.  This leaves us wondering which Li Na is the real one.  The one who was in the title games of the Aussie and French Opens? Or the one who won only one match between Wimbledon and the U.S. Open?

She will have to prove herself against a tough opponent.  Ksenia Pervak, ranked 40th in the world and coming from Kazakhstan, has a career record of 193-97.  Just in 2011, she beat the likes of Angelique Kerber and Andrea Petkovic.

Despite the difference in rankings, this won't be an easy win for Na.  She will have to come out firing to get past the young Pervak.

John Isner (16) vs. Benjamin Mitchell

This one becomes interesting because you've got the inconsistent John Isner facing Benjamin Mitchell, who is from Australia and making his singles debut in a Grand Slam tournament.

From that, I can't gather a specific area where Mitchell could potentially dominate Isner.  However, we all know how good—and how bad—Isner can be.

Here's a guy who has beaten the likes of Mardy Fish, Andy Roddick, Giles Simon, and David Ferrer, as well as taking Andy Murray and Rafa Nadal to their limits.

Yet, he just lost a second-round match in the Sydney International to Bobby Reynolds.

Who?  Exactly.

Isner has proven to be very error-prone at times, which is what causes him to lose matches to much less talented guys.  If he's not careful, Ben Mitchell could exploit that weakness. 

Serena Williams (12) vs. Tamira Paszek

There is absolutely no doubt how great of a career Serena Williams has had. Seven years ago, I never would have said she might lose a first-round match.

Now, you just have to wonder how much Williams has left.  She's definitely got some momentum after being the runner-up in the 2011 U.S. Open, but she's missed a lot of time over the last couple years due to injury.

Is her body almost ready to give up?  Though power in that swing still exists, it's not what it used to be.

Williams will be facing Tamira Paszek, who had a respectable 36 tour wins in 2011, including getting into the quarterfinals of Wimbledon.  Paszek is still young (only 21), so it's hard for even me to believe that she is going to be able to take down someone as great as Serena.

However, Paszek has shown promise.  I don't see this being a squash for Williams at all. 

Andy Roddick (15) vs. Robin Haase

Given Andy Roddick's subpar 2011 season, you have to wonder if this will be his last Australian Open.

Historically, he's been decent in Melbourne—in 10 appearances, he's made it to at least the quarterfinal round six times.  Still, it's hard to imagine any match he's in being easy.

There is nothing in particular about Robin Haase that is impressive.  He's got pretty average speed, average power, so on and so forth.  However, he's pretty good at capitalizing on mistakes.  This seems pretty easy to do, but a lot of players just can't seem to recognize an error when they see it.

Haase can, and Roddick makes a whole lot of them. 

There's no doubt that Roddick has made a mark on the tennis world, but I'd be shocked to find out that his one Grand Slam title (back in 2003) is a satisfactory finish for him.  That Aussie Open title has eluded him, and he would love to bring it back to the States.

Caroline Wozniacki (1) vs. Anastasia Rodionova

From the "tale of the tape" standpoint, the only thing that Anastasia Rodionova really has going for her is her experience.  After that, it would appear that Caroline Wozniacki and her top ranking would have all of the momentum and edge in their first-round match.

However, as fans, we've been fooled by Wozniacki before.  She still hasn't won a Grand Slam tournament and was recently ousted from the Sydney International in the quarterfinal round.  Worse yet, she's been struggling with a wrist injury.

Let's recap: no major victories, an injury and a lack of momentum.  Somehow, I can't see the edge swinging back into Wozniacki's favor.

One of her big problems of late has been her forehand.  It's usually wild, and that's what opponents are willing to attack.  Being as experienced as Rodionova is, I'm certain she'll know to do that.

All eyes are going to be focused on Caroline Wozniacki come Monday, as she continues to attempt to prove her ranking.