Sublime Rafael Nadal Makes Statement

With Federer, Djokovic and Murray already through to the second round of the Australian Open, all eyes were on Nadal to see how he would perform.

The talk had been about his slow starts at the beginning of the season and his previous performances in the Australian Open not quite being up to scratch.

However, no more than 19 minutes had passed before Nadal was up and running as he took the first set 6-0.

His 34-year-old opponent, Christophe Rochus, still looked as though he was up for a match, but Nadal poured it on. In the soaring heat, Nadal managed to whip 47 winners in 22 games to put an early close to his first-round match-up.

Although Rochus was never a real threat, it was still a strong statement to his fellow title contenders.

With Federer getting the slightest of tests against Seppi and Djokovic surviving a late third set surge from Stoppini, Nadal will be pleased to have come through with ease.

Following his victory, Nadal was asked about a possible pursuit of a Grand Slam. While he insisted that he is "not thinking about this,'' his performance clearly sent a strong statement to everyone below him that he wants to be No. 1, and is out to add the slam to his collection.

With the consistent Federer a near-lock to make at least the semi-finals, there will be lots of intriguing match-ups. Perhaps we will see another Federer-Nadal battle, or maybe it's Murray's turn to take front stage. No one can count out Djokovic, either.

If there's one slam you would most fancy an outsider to win, it has to be this one. With two breakthrough champions in the last four years (Safin and Djokovic), and many epic cliffhanging matches, perhaps a dark horse will emerge.

Look out for Tsonga, who lost in last year's final, and Gilles Simon, the on-form Frenchman. 

All we know is, it's statement time for 2009.