Picking All 127 Matches at the 2009 Australian Open

FIRST ROUND

Rafael Nadal (1) def. Christophe Rochus

Rafa still lacks a hard-court major title on his resume, but he’s also never lost in the first round of one.

Florent Serra def. Roko Karanusic

Serra has reached the second round here each of the past two years, while Karanusic is 0-3 at the Australian.

Tommy Haas def. Eduardo Schwank

Schwank is actually the higher-ranked player, but he’s done most of his damage on clay, and the hard-courts are where Haas thrives.

Dmitry Tursunov (29) def. Flavio Cipolla

Tursunov has never reached the quarterfinals of a Grand Slam, but he should have enough talent and experience to get past the qualifier.

Richard Gasquet (24) def. Diego Junqueira

Gasquet has made it to the fourth round two consecutive years, while Junqueira is a Down Under rookie.

Denis Istomin def. Vincent Spadea

The only match Spadea has won since October was because his opponent retired, while Istomin is just two months removed from a victory over No. 43 Igor Kunitsyn.

Guillermo Canas def. Dieter Kindlmann

Canas probably wouldn’t have beaten Nicolas Kiefer, but he should be able to beat his lucky loser replacement.

Fernando Gonzalez (13) def. Lleyton Hewitt

Tough luck for the 13 seed who draws the 2005 finalist and hometown hero in the first round, but this is familiar territory for Gonzalez who dispatched Hewitt in four sets in the third round of this event in 2007.  He should be able to get the job done again over the Australian who has dropped to 74th in the world.

Gael Monfils (12) def. Martin Vassallo Arguello

Monfils is one of the trendy picks at the Australian following his straight-sets victory over Nadal earlier this month in Qatar.

Mikhail Youzhny def. Stefan Koubek

Both of these players have reached the quarters here, but Youzhny did it last year while Koubek turned the trick back in 2002, and while the Austrian leads their all-time series 2-1, they’ve never played on the Russian’s favorite surface—hard-courts.

Andrev Golubev def. Fabio Fognini

Neither of these players have won at the Australian, but Golubev was victorious in his first ever Grand Slam match at the 2008 US Open, while Fognini is 0-4 in majors.

Nicolas Almagro (17) def. Nicolas Massu

Two clay courters going at it on the hard-courts. I’ll take Almagro, who’s won the last three meetings between these two.

Ivo Karlovic (25) def. Daniel Gimeno-Traver

Karlovic reached the third round last year, while his opponent is 0-1 in his Grand Slam career.

Mario Ancic def. Wayne Odesnik

Ancic has advanced to at least the third round every time he’s played here, so I don’t think he’ll get tripped up by a qualifier.

Chris Guccione def. Nicolas Devilder

Devilder rolled over Guccione at Roland Garros, but the Australian should return the favor on hard-courts where he’s the better player.

Gilles Simon (6) def. Pablo Andujar

Andujar’s never played here while Simon has reached the third round in two of the past three years.

Andy Murray (4) def. Andrei Pavel

Murray beat Pavel 6-4 in the fifth at the ’05 US Open. It shouldn’t take that long this time around now that Pavel is ranked 1140 in the world, and Murray is the sexy pick to win the whole tournament.

Marcel Granollers def. Teimuraz Gabashvili

Neither player has ever won a match at this event, but Granollers is off to a nice start in ’09, reaching the semis at Chennai in India earlier this month.

Andreas Beck def. Colin Ebelthite

The qualifier won three matches in Melbourne last week. That’s something the wild card has never done.

Jurgen Melzer (31) def. Kei Nishikori

Melzer has won his last seven first-round matches at Grand Slam events.

Radek Stepanek (22) def. Nicolas Lapentti

Stepanek took out five of the top 54 players in the world en route to a title in Brisbane earlier this month and his 2-0 lifetime versus Lapentti.

Carsten Ball def. Michael Berrer

Ball will be halfway to repeating his trip to the third round last year after beating the qualifier.

Arnaud Clement def. Sergiy Stakhovsky

Clement has lost five of his last six matches at the Australian, but Stakhovsky has never played here before—and so I’ll give the edge to experience over youth.

Fernando Verdasco (14) def. Adrian Mannarino

Verdasco is another one who has started strong in ’09, advancing to the finals of Brisbane. He should be able to reach the second round for the fifth straight year, but will he get to the third for the first time is the question.

James Blake (9) def. Frank Dancevic

Last year’s quarterfinalist should breeze by the qualifier, whom he torched in Stockholm in 2007.

Steve Darcis def. Sebastien De Chaunac

Neither of these players have won here, but Darcis beat De Chaunac in a non-Tour hard-court event in ’07 so I’ll give him the edge.

Ernests Gulbis def. Albert Montanes

Montanes beat Gulbis at the 2007 French Open, but Gulbis (17-19 career on hard-courts) is far better on this surface than Montanes (13-42).

Igor Andreev (18) def. Peter Polansky

Andreev has reached the round of 32 here twice in the past three years. He should be able to best the qualifier.

Dudi Sela def. Rainer Schuettler (30)

Schuettler’s was 50/50 to even play the Australian after withdrawing from his Chennai Open semifinal earlier this month due to a wrist injury.  Now he draws a qualifier, who not only beat him at the Olympics last year, but has also advanced to the second round here each of the past two years.

Victor Hanescu def. Jan Hernych

Hanescu has looked solid this month, beating Viktor Troicki and Mikhail Youzhny in straight sets.

Ivan Ljubicic def. Igor Kunitsyn

Ljubicic is finally healthy after suffering hamstring and back injuries in 2008 and he’s ready to make Kunitsyn, who has never won here, his first victim at the Australian.

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (5) def. Juan Monaco

Tsonga burst onto the scene when he reached the final at last year’s Australian Open.  He’s moved all the way up to sixth in the world, and while he does face a stiff test against Monaco, Tsonga should be able to advance.

Andy Roddick (7) def. Bjorn Rehnquist

Like fellow A-Rod, Alex Rodriguez, Roddick excels in odd-numbered years. Well, at least at the Australian, where he’s reached the semis in ’03, ’05 and ’07.

Xavier Malisse def. Michael Llodra

Llodra hasn’t won a match here in nine years.

Juan Carlos Ferrero def. Fabrice Santoro

Ferrero has won all four meetings between these two that have been completed.

Sam Querrey def. Philipp Kohlschreiber (32)

This should be a good matchup between two guys who’ve had a moderate amount of recent success here, but I’ll give the nod to the American because he beat Kohlschreiber in straights at the ’06 US Open.

Tommy Robredo (21) def. Bobby Reynolds

Robredo swept Reynolds at the 2007 US Open.

Viktor Troicki def. Alberto Martin

Martin has won only about a third of his career matches on hard-courts, while Troicki has won exactly half.

Yen-Hsun Lu def. Thomaz Bellucci

This could come down to experience. This is Lu’s fifth Australian, but it’s just the first for the Brazilian.

Marc Gicquel def. David Nalbandian (10)

Nalbandian is the better hard-court player, but he was also the better grass courter when Gicquel beat him at Halle in 2007. I’ll take the upset here.

Robin Soderling (16) def. Robert Kendrick

Neither of these players have had any real success at this event, but Kendrick hasn’t beaten anyone ranked in the top 100 since August.

Julien Benneteau def. Marcos Baghdatis

Baghdatis hasn’t been playing well, and Benneteau holds a 2-0 career record against him.

Kristof Vliegen def. Simone Bolelli

Vliegen beat Bolelli in an off-Tour match last year.

Mardy Fish (23) def. Samuel Groth

The 2007 quarterfinalist should make short work of the wild card.

Jarkko Nieminen def. Paul-Henri Mathieu (28)

One of the best first round matchups. I’ll give Nieminen the edge because he reached the quarters here last year and beat Mathieu in their only ever ATP meeting in nearby Adelaide in 2006.

Taylor Dent def. Amer Delic

Dent hasn’t played a Grand Slam event since the ’06 Australian, but he’s playing better again and should have enough to best the qualifier, whom he beat in their only meeting back in ’05.

Jeremy Chardy def. Marcos Daniel

Daniel is 0-13 in his career on hard-courts.

Novak Djokovic (3) def. Andrea Stoppini

The defending champ should be off the court in less than 90 minutes.

Juan Martin Del Potro (8) def. Mischa Zverev

Del Potro’s never gotten past the second round here but he broke out late last year reaching the quarters at Flushing Meadows, and, after recovering from some injuries, looks to continue his winning ways here.

Florian Mayer def. Lamine Ouahab

Both are qualifiers, but Ouahab is playing in his first main draw at a Grand Slam, while Mayer is in his 18th.

Bernard Tomic def. Potito Starace

The wild card is ranked 767th in the world and is competing in his first major but he’s drawn a guy who’s lost his last 12 non-clay Grand Slam matches.

Feliciano Lopez (27) def. Gilles Muller

Lopez beat Muller in four sets in the second round of the ’06 Australian.

Marin Cilic (19) def. Kevin Anderson

Cilic is one of the hottest players in the world after winning at Chennai earlier this month.

Janko Tipsarevic def. Oscar Hernandez

Tipsarevic got one round further than Hernadez last year, and he’s gotten off to a better start this season.

Dominik Hrbaty def. John Isner

Isner hasn’t done much since his minor break out at the ’07 US Open, while Hrbaty, who had to qualify this year, has reached the quarters here twice.

David Ferrer (11) def. Denis Gremelmayr

Last year’s quarterfinalist should move on.

Stainslas Wawrinka (15) def. Ivo Minar

Minar has never won here. Wawrinka will look to keep that futility going.

Bjorn Phau def. Brydan Klein

Another wild card versus qualifier matchup that should go to the guy who’s been winning matches on the grounds all week.

Philipp Petzschner def. Brian Dabul

Petzschner’s actually never lost a Grand Slam first round match. He’s 2-0.

Tomas Berdych (20) def. Robby Ginepri

Berdych is 2-0 lifetime versus the American, including a hard-court win in France last year.

Marat Safin (26) def. Ivan Navarro

The 2005 champ hasn’t lost a first-round match here in nine years.

Guillermo Garcia-Lopez def. Agustin Calleri

Garcia-Lopez reached the third round last year and beat Calleri in their only head-to-head.

Evgeny Korolev def. Carlos Moya

The ’97 finalist has lost four straight first round matches Down Under. I think the qualifier makes it five in a row.

Roger Federer (2) def. Andreas Seppi

Federer has already beaten Seppi this month—a 6-3, 6-3 victory at Doha.

SECOND ROUND

Rafael Nadal (1) def. Florent Serra

Nadal dropped just 11 games in seven sets during three hard-court victories over Serra last year, including one in this round of this event in ’08.

Tommy Haas def. Dmitry Tursunov (29)

Haas leads the all-time series between these two by a margin of 4-1.

Richard Gasquet (24) def. Denis Istomin

Gasquet is looking to reach the fourth round here for the third straight year.

Guillermo Canas def. Fernando Gonzalez (13)

Canas has won both meetings between these two, including a tight hard-court match in Miami last year.

Mikhail Youzhny def. Gael Monfils (12)

Yet another bad second round draw for a seed. Youzhny is 2-0 versus Monfils, with both matches coming on the hard surface.

Andrey Golubev def. Nicolas Almagro (17)

Almagro is 16-31 in his career on hard-courts, while Golubev is a more respectable 6-6.

Mario Ancic def. Ivo Karlovic (25)

This is one of the better second-round matchups, but I’ll go with Ancic because he’s reached at least the third round in all five trips Down Under.

Gilles Simon (6) def. Chris Guccione

Simon should return to the third round by beating the Aussie who’s never made it past the second here.

Andy Murray (4) def. Marcel Granollers

Murray has beaten the Spaniard on clay twice, so he should have no problems on hard-courts.

Jurgen Melzer (31) def. Andreas Beck

Melzer has reached the third round in his last three majors. Make it four in a row.

Radek Stepanek (22) def. Carsten Ball

Stepanek is like the mini Roddick. He’s made it to the round of 32 in every odd year since ’03.

Fernando Verdasco (14) def. Arnaud Clement

Verdasco has lost in the second round here four straight years, but he just beat three top 60 players to reach the finals at Brisbane, so I think he’s playing well enough right now to break through to the third round.

James Blake (9) def. Steve Darcis

These two split sets at the 2008 US Open before Darcis retired with an injury, so I expect the rematch to be close but last year’s quarterfinalist should move on.

Igor Andreev (18) def. Ernests Gulbis

Gulbis has never reached the third round here while Andreev has done it twice in the past three years.

Dudi Sela def. Victor Hanescu

Sela beat Hanescu in a hard-court encounter last year in Moscow.

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (5) def. Ivan Ljubicic

Ljubicic hasn’t won a match here since reaching the quarters in 2006, while Tsonga was last year’s runner-up.

Andy Roddick (7) def. Xavier Malisse

Roddick beat Malisse seven times between 2001 and 2003, but they haven’t met since.

Juan Carlos Ferrero def. Sam Querrey

Ferrero beat Querrey twice last year.

Tommy Robredo (21) def. Viktor Troicki

Troicki should be happy enough winning his first ever match at the Australian.

Marc Gicquel def. Yen-Hsun Lu

Gicquel beat Lu in the first round of last year’s Australian, but it went five sets, so expect another tight one here.

Robin Soderling (16) def. Julien Benneteau

Soderling has won the last three meetings including a straight-sets victory in Brisbanethis month.

Mardy Fish (23) def. Kristof Vliegen

Fish is coming off a quarterfinals appearance at the US Open, while Vliegen hasn’t won a Grand Slam match since last year’s Australian.

Jarkko Nieminen (28) def. Taylor Dent

Nieminen leads the all-time series 3-1.

Novak Djokovic (3) def. Jeremy Chardy

Chardy has never won a match here, so I see no way he can knock off the defending champ.

Juan Martin Del Potro (8) def. Florian Mayer

Mayer destroyed Del Potro 6-1, 6-0 at a 2006 clay event, but that was when Del Potro was just 18 years old. He’s now sixth in the world and coming off a tune-up victory in Auckland.

Feliciano Lopez (27) def. Bernard Tomic

Lopez should return to the third round for the fourth time since 2003.

Marin Cilic (19) def. Janko Tipsarevic

Cilic just beat Tipsarevic at the quarters of Chennai.

David Ferrer (11) def. Dominik Hrbaty

Ferrer has won four the past five meetings and is definitely the better player right now.

Stanslas Wawrinka (15) def. Bjorn Phau

In 14 Grand Slams, Phau has never reached the third round. Wawrinka’s done it nine times.

Tomas Berdych (20) def. Philipp Petzschner

Berdych has had some recent success at the Australian, reaching the fourth round the past two years.

Marat Safin (26) def. Guillermo Garcia-Lopez

Safin is the much better hard-court player.

Roger Federer (2) def. Evgeny Korolev

Korolev has never gotten past the second round, while Federer has won this tournament three times.

THIRD ROUND

Rafael Nadal (1) def. Tommy Haas

Nadal is 3-0 in his career against Haas including a hard-court win last year.

Richard Gasquet (24) def. Guillermo Canas

Gasquet is off to a great start this year, winning six of eight matches in two tune-up events.

Mikhail Youzhny def. Andrey Golubev

Youzhny may be unseeded, but he has his eyes set on returning to the quarterfinals.

Mario Ancic def. Gilles Simon (6)

Ancic beat Simon on the hard-courts of Miami last year.

Andy Murray (4) def. Jurgen Melzer (31)

Murraybeat Melzer three times in 2008.

Radek Stepanek (22) def. Fernando Verdasco (14)

Stepanek is 3-0 against Verdasco, including a win this month in the finals of Brisbane.

James Blake (9) def. Igor Andreev (18)

Blake is undefeated in five matches against the Russian.

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (5) def. Dudi Sela

Tsonga beat Sela 6-2, 6-4 at Indian Wells last year.

Andy Roddick (7) def. Juan Carlos Ferrero

Roddick is 5-0 versus Ferrero.

Tommy Robredo (21) def. Marc Gicquel

Robredo is 2-1 against Gicquel with a victory in their only hard-court meeting.

Robin Soderling (16) def. Mardy Fish (23)

Soderling has never gotten past the second round here and he’s 0-2 lifetime versus Fish, but he’s 4-2 this month, while Fish is 0-2.

Jarkko Nieminen def. Novak Djokovic (3)

Nieminen just beat Djokovic 6-4, 7-6 in the semis at Sydney. Beating him in a major will be more difficult, but I think the Fin gets it done and knocks out the defending champ.

Feliciano Lopez (27) def. Juan Martin Del Potro (8)

Del Potro beat Lopez on hard-courts twice in ’07, but the Spaniard returned the favor in ’08.

Marin Cilic (19) def. David Ferrer (11)

Cilic didn’t beat anyone ranked in the top 46 en route to his victory at Chennai this month, but starting the year 5-0 has to give him confidence heading into the first major of 2009.

Tomas Berdych (20) def. Stanislas Wawrinka (15)

These two split a pair of matches on hard-courts last year, but Berdych won the most recent encounter in straight sets.

Roger Federer (2) def. Marat Safin (26)

Federer is 9-2 versus Safin and has won the last three meetings.

FOURTH ROUND

Rafael Nadal (1) def. Richard Gasquet (24)

Six ATP Tour meetings and six victories for the world’s No. 1 player.

Mikhail Youzhny def. Mario Ancic

Youzhny had little trouble with Ancic at a 2007 carpet event. I say he gets back to the quarters for the second straight year.

Andy Murray (4) def. Radek Stepanek (22)

Murray hasn’t dropped a set in two career meetings.

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (5) def. James Blake (9)

Tsonga beat Blake in straight sets at the ATP Masters Series Paris semi-final last year.

Andy Roddick (7) def. Tommy Robredo (21)

Roddick is 9-0 against Robredo.

Robin Soderling (16) def. Jarkko Nieminen

Soderling beat Nieminen in a tight three-setter in 2008.

Marin Cilic (19) def. Feliciano Lopez (27)

Lopez has never gotten past the third round here, while Cilic tries to one up his fourth round finish from last year.

Roger Federer (2) def. Tomas Berdych (20)

Federer lost to Berdych in their first meeting at the 2004 Olympics. He’s won seven straight since then.

QUARTERFINALS

Rafael Nadal (1) def. Mikhail Youzhny

Nadal has won four of the past five meetings between these two with the only hiccup coming in a shocking 6-0, 6-1 loss at the 2008 Chennai final. I don’t think that’ll happen again.

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (5) def. Andy Murray (4)

Tsonga’s unlikely run to the final last year began with a hard-fought, four set victory over Murray in the first round. The Scot has been on fire lately, beating Federer and Roddick already this month, but Tsonga’s on the way up as well.

Robin Soderling (16) def. Andy Roddick (7)

Soderling keeps getting favorable matchups. He beat Roddick twice last year.

Roger Federer (2) def. Marin Cilic (19)

Federer beat Cilic in straight sets at last year’s ATP Masters Series Paris tournament.

SEMIFINALS

Rafael Nadal (1) def. Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (5)

Tsonga beat Nadal in straight sets in the semis last year, but Nadal got him back with a tight win at Indian Wells.

Roger Federer (2) def. Robin Soderling (16)

Soderling’s run ends here with his ninth defeat in nine career matches against Fed.

FINAL

Roger Federer (2) def. Rafael Nadal (1)

Here we go again. Nadal continued his dominance over Federer on clay at the 2008 French Open and then took Federer’s crown as the best grass court player in the world at the ’08 Wimbledon final, a.k.a. The Greatest Match Ever. But Federer is still the better hard-court player as evidenced by 3-2 record head-to-head on the surface and the fact that Nadal has never even reached a final at the Australian or US Open. Federer takes the title.

Jordan Schwartz is Bleacher Report's New York Yankees Community Leader. His book "Memoirs of the Unaccomplished Man"is available at amazon.com, barnesandnoble.com, and authorhouse.com.

Jordan can be reached at [e-mail]