Australian Open 2016: Complete Predictions for Men's and Women's Draw

With the 2016 Australian Open approaching Jan. 18-31, both the men's and women's draws were announced Thursday night with defending champions Novak Djokovic and Serena Williams claiming the top seeds in their respective brackets.

Stan Wawrinka's win in 2014 is the only thing keeping Djokovic from winning five Opens in a row after also claiming the title from 2011-13. Williams is looking for her seventh championship in the tournament while currently sporting an Open era record six titles.

There are certainly formidable foes to both. Usual suspects Andy Murray, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal are all contenders, per Odds Shark, who ranked the trio right behind the -150 favorite Djokovic.

Expect one of the four to be crowned champion as a true sleeper has not been seen in quite some time. Since Andre Agassi won the tournament in 2003, the last 12 have been won by just five players—Djokovic, Nadal, Wawrinka, Federer and Marat Safin.

The women's side is a bit more open with seven players winning during the same time frame, although if Williams—the current favorite—wins, she will have won the tournament on average every other year the past 14 years.

Let's take a look at matchups and predictions for the top-16 seeded players as well as what's in store for the top two seeds. The full brackets for both men and women can be found at AusOpen.com.

Men's Draw
Women's Draw
Matchup	Predicted Winner
No. 1 Novak Djokovic vs. Hyeon Chung	Djokovic
No. 2 Andy Murray vs. Alexander Averev	Murray
No. 3 Roger Federer vs. Nikoloz Basilashvili	Federer
No. 4 Stan Wawrinka vs. Dmitry Tursunov	Wawrinka
No. 5 Rafael Nadal vs. Fernando Verdasco	Nadal
No. 6 Tomas Berdych vs. Yuki Bhambri	Berdych
No. 7 Kei Nishikori vs. Philipp Kohlschreiber	Nishikori
No. 8 David Ferrer vs. Qualifier	Ferrer
No. 9 Jo-Wilfried Tsonga vs. Marcos Baghdatis	Tsonga
No. 10 John Isner vs. Jerzy Janowicz	Isner
No. 11 Kevin Anderson vs. Rajeev Ram	Ram
No. 12 Marin Cilic vs. Thiemo de Bakker	Cilic
No. 13 Milos Raonic vs. Lucas Pouille	Pouille
No. 14 Gilles Simon vs. Vasek Pospisil	Simon
No. 15 David Goffin vs. Sergiy Stakhovsky	Stakhovsky
No. 16 Bernard Tomic vs. Denis Istomin	Istomin
Matchup	Predicted Winner
No. 1 Serena Williams vs. Camila Giorgi	Williams
No. 2 Simona Halep vs. Qualifier	Halep
No. 3 Garbine Muguruza vs. Anett Kontaveit	Muguruza
No. 4 Agnieszka Radwanska vs. Christina McHale	Radwanska
No. 5 Maria Sharapova vs. Nao Hibino	Sharapova
No. 6 Petro Kvitova vs. Qualifier	Kvitova
No. 7 Angelique Kerber vs. Misaki Doi	Doi
No. 8 Venus Williams vs. Johanna Konta	Williams
No. 9 Karolina Pliskova vs. Kimberly Birrell	Pliskova
No. 10 Carlo Suarez Navarro vs. Qualifier	Navarro
No. 11 Timea Bacsinszky vs. Katerina Siniakova	Bacsinszky
No. 12 Belinda Bencic vs. Alison Riske	Bencic
No. 13 Roberta Vinci vs. Qualifier	Vinci
No. 14 Victoria Azarenka vs. Alison Van Uytvanck	Van Uytvanck
No. 15 Madison Keys vs. Zarina Diyas	Diyas
No. 16 Caroline Wozniacki vs. Yulia Putintseva	Wozniacki

Williams' Path not an Easy One

Those who prefer to look ahead have no doubt noticed the bracket has set up a potentially intriguing match between No. 1 Williams and No. 5 Maria Sharapova in the quarterfinals, in what would be a rematch of last year's final.

However, Nick McCarvel of USA Today Sports says Williams, who is battling knee inflammation, needs to be on top of her game to defeat first-round opponent Camila Giorgi:

"

The 34-year-old American hasn’t played an official match since her dramatic exit from the U.S. Open in September, where she lost in the semifinals. World No. 43 Roberta Vinci stopped her two matches shy of an historic Grand Slam.

She opens with perhaps the toughest of first-round asks, facing world No. 35 Camila Giorgi, a petite Italian who hits a gigantic ball. Giorgi was the highest-ranked player not to be seeded here.

"

Williams has taken care of Giorgi in two career head-to-head matches, but the 24-year-old Italian improved some in her second attempt to defeat Williams.

Date	Event	Court	Winner	Result
April 4, 2015	Italy v USA - FC WG - PO	Clay	Williams	7-6(5), 6-2
April 1, 2013	Charleston	Clay	Williams	6-2, 6-3

Williams should win, but don't count on this being a guarantee. Giorgi is rising while Williams' performance could be hindered by the injury that forced her out of Team USA's opening Hopman Cup tie earlier this month.

Former coach and TV analyst Paul Annacone weighed in on the matchup, per McCarvel:

"

That’s a tough match up for Serena. Camila has experience and plenty of firepower. In many ways, I think it’s a good thing for Serena. She’s playing a familiar face. Even though it’s a tough match, it clicks you into your concentration right away. It will be an exciting one to watch.

"

If Williams holds serve with a victory, it's up to Sharapova to hold up her end of the bargain for a rematch every tennis fan wants to see.

Djokovic Primed for Another Victory

Unlike Williams, Djokovic doesn't appear to be vulnerable on his quest to defend his championship. At least that's the opinion of ESPN analyst Brad Gilbert, per Kelyn Soong of the Washington Post.

"He's in the prime of his career," Gilbert said. "Right now he is as complete of a tennis player as I've ever seen."

Tennis legend Chris Evert echoed Gilbert's sentiments, per Soong.

"I think where Djokovic excels is just the physical – like Brad said – the defense, the offense," she said. "And he's mentally just head and shoulders above everyone else."

If Djokovic is to win a fifth Open in six years, it's not going to be an easy path based on seed projections, per the Australian Open's official Twitter account:

If his start in 2016 is any indication of how Djokovic will fare in the tournament, his opponents could be in trouble. He has not lost a set in five matches so far, and as Soong noted, he easily dispatched Nadal, 6-1, 6-2, in the finals of Qatar Open earlier this month.

His first test will be South Korea's rising star, Hyeon Chung, 19, and ranked No. 51 in the world. It will be the first meeting between the two.

It won't be an easy run for the defending champ, but it doesn't appear—and for good reason—many are willing to choose someone else to be hoisting the trophy when the tournament ends two weeks from Sunday.

Only time will tell, but lately, especially in the tournament, it's been pretty good to Djokovic.