Australian Open 2012 Results: Dominant Top 4 Are Locks for Men's Semis

Men's tennis may be deeper now than it has ever been, but that won't stop the top four seeds from breezing into the Australian Open semifinals.

No. 2 Rafael Nadal, No. 3 Roger Federer and No. 4 Andy Murray all scored tidy victories yesterday, while No. 1 Novak Djokovic shouldn't have much trouble dispatching of Nicolas Mahut to advance to the tournament's round of 16.

There is no question that there are players with the talent necessary to knock off the top four seeds, but nobody has been able to put it all together and get the job done over the past year. I certainly don't expect that to change much as Djokovic, Nadal, Federer and Murray are all playing a cut above the rest.

Djokovic, Nadal and Federer are all multiple-time Grand Slam winners, with Djokovic winning three last season. While Murray has yet to break through, he has been on the precipice of doing so for quite some time and certainly has the ability to win a hard-court Grand Slam like the Aussie or US Open.

In last year's Australian Open, Djokovic, Federer and Murray all made the semis, while Nadal was surprisingly bounced by David Ferrer. Each top four seed reached the semis in both the French and US Opens, however, and three of the four got to the end at Wimbledon as Federer was upset by Jo-Wilfried Tsonga.

That means that at least three of the top four seeds were in every Grand Slam semifinal last year, so there isn't currently much mystery in the men's game. That isn't necessarily a bad thing, though, as the top four seeds are four of the best players in recent memory, so there's plenty of competition at the top.

I'm not sure that four players have ever had such a run of dominance as the current top seeds have, but it doesn't look to be ending any time soon. All of them are capable of playing on any surface, but Djokovic and Murray in particular are excellent on hard courts, while Federer and Nadal acquit themselves well also.

There is no question that some of the players who are on the cusp of reaching elite status will be gunning for the top dogs over the next two rounds, but I think talent and experience will ultimately work in the favor of Djokovic, Nadal, Federer and Murray.

At this point it may seem like you can skip the first five rounds of every men's Grand Slam, because the result is basically going to be the same. That is likely to be true of the Aussie Open, but there is still plenty of greatness to be seen from the top four seeds prior to the semis.