Australian Open 2016: Draw Date, Time, Live Stream Info and More
The 2016 tennis season already started on Jan. 4, but the Australian Open is the unofficial beginning of the year. This first major starts on Jan. 18 at Melbourne Park, with the draw and seedings coming out three days earlier.
This will be the 104th Australian Open, though it will have a feel similar to last year's with Serena Williams and Novak Djokovic all but certain to be the top seeds on the women's and men's side, respectively.
Beyond where players are seeded, bracket positioning is the most important part of Friday's draw because it will determine how long other top contenders avoid bad matchups.
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| Friday, Jan. 15 | 5 p.m. | Tennis Channel | AusOpen.com |
Key Women's Storyline
One of the biggest stories for this year's Australian Open is depth on the women's side. Williams is standing over everyone else, even after falling short of completing the calendar-year grand slam last year by losing the U.S. Open semifinals.
Williams wound up not playing another tournament in 2015 and retired with knee inflammation during the second set of her most recent match against Jarmila Wolfe in the Hopman Cup last week.
Speaking to reporters after the match, per the Associated Press (via ESPN.com), Williams did not sound concerned about her knee moving forward.
"I just have some inflammation that's been going away very slowly,'' Williams said. "It's going away, but just needs a little more time. I've been training really hard during the offseason. Really pushing myself beyond the limits. I just think a day off or two will make a world of difference.''
With Williams' perch secure, questions begin right behind her. Maria Sharapova, who lost to Williams in last year's Australian Open final, played sparingly down the stretch last season with leg and forearm problems.
The latter issue came up again when Sharapova withdrew from last week's Brisbane International, as did Simona Halep with an Achilles problem, per the Associated Press (via ESPN.com).
Lucie Safarova, another top-10 player, was forced to withdraw from the Australian Open due to health problems.
But the issues don't stop there, with Phil Lutton of the Sydney Morning Herald noting Petra Kvitova withdrew from the Shenzhen Open due to an illness and Samantha Stosur is battling a wrist injury.
It's likely that Williams, Sharapova and Halep were merely trying to save their stamina for one of the year's biggest tournaments instead of trying to go overboard right out of the gate, but the overall depth looks much weaker than it would have with everyone healthy.
One silver lining is these injuries do open the door for a new contender to emerge from the shadows and make their presence felt on the WTA Tour in 2016.
Key Men's Storyline
Things are not nearly as dramatic on the men's side, though some of that can be attributed to a lack of depth. Djokovic, Roger Federer, Andy Murray, Rafael Nadal and Stan Wawrinka are all healthy and ready to go.
Federer's age is always going to be a topic because it's so surprising to see a tennis player continue to play at such a high level in his mid-30s.
Yet the main question is, does anyone have what it takes to stop Djokovic? The world's top-ranked player has won the Australian Open four of the last five years. Wawrinka is the only player who has defeated him in this event, knocking him off in the quarterfinals two years ago.
Wawrinka also beat Djokovic in last year's French Open final, so there is one player who at least has the talent and formula to get in the irresistible force's way.
Djokovic has already impressed one of his biggest threats this year, with Nadal saying after losing to the Serb in the final at the Qatar Open that he's never seen anyone playing at this level, per the Associated Press (via USA Today).
"I played against a player who did everything perfect," Nadal said. "I know nobody playing tennis like this ever. Since I know this sport, I never saw somebody playing at this level. When I say perfect, it's not one thing in particular. It's everything. If not, it's not perfect."
ESPN's Howard Bryant didn't go so far as to say Djokovic was a perfect player, but he did seem to come pretty close after the Qatar Open:
Djokovic has certainly played his way into a discussion with those other legends, and his dominance at Australia makes him an overwhelming favorite when things begin on Jan. 18.
Wawrinka did have a distinct advantage in his French Open win over Djokovic last year. The world No. 1's semifinal match against Murray was pushed into Saturday because of poor weather conditions, meaning he didn't have a full day of rest.
While Djokovic would never use that as an excuse, he did breeze by Wawrinka in their next two matches in 2015.
There will come a time when Djokovic isn't the best player on the planet, but it certainly isn't here yet. He's got the bullseye on his back and responds to the challenge better than anyone else in the sport. This is his tournament to lose, and the draw is not going to alter that in any way.
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