Australian Open 2011: Power-Ranking Rafael Nadal and the Top 10 Men in the Field
On Monday, January 17th, the world's best tennis players will take to the court at Melbourne Park and compete for the Australian Open title.
On the men's side, Rafael Nadal will be looking for his fourth straight Grand Slam title, one that would make him the first man to accomplish such a feat since Rod Laver did so 41 years ago.
Standing in his way is a very strong field, including the No. 2 seed Roger Federer, who will be seeking his 17th Grand Slam title.
The rest of the field will be doing everything in their power to stop the two tennis juggernauts from playing each other in the finals.
Read on for the top 10 players in the men's field.
10. Nikolay Davydenko
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Nikolay Davydenko was on fire at the Australian Open in 2010 until he ran into the Roger Federer buzzsaw.
The Russian ran through his first three matches without dropping a single set, then won a nail-biter against Fernando Verdasco in five sets.
But then Federer beat him in four sets in the quarterfinals.
We could see a similar run this year as Davydenko is playing some of his best tennis.
He is coming off a tournament at Doha which saw him take out a sick Rafael Nadal before losing to Federer in the finals.
Davydenko could very well advance to the quarterfinals of the Australian Open for the fifth time this year.
He may even go farther.
9. Andy Roddick
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Andy Roddick has made it to the semifinals of the Australian Open four times in his career, most recently in 2009.
The top-ranked American fell to Marin Cilic in the quarterfinals last year, but he can use an apparent shoulder injury as an excuse.
In his most recent tournament, the No. 8 seed lost in the finals of the Brisbane International to Robin Soderling.
Roddick has historically been disappointing in the Grand Slams, and that trend will probably continue on through this year.
But at the end of the day, he still gets to go home to Brooklyn Decker.
8. Gael Monfils
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The No. 12 seed on the men's side is one of the most fun to watch players in the world.
His speed and athleticism is virtually unmatched by any other player in the tournament.
Gael Monfils is the last player to beat Roger Federer in a tournament when he took out the Swiss Maestro in ATP Paris 2010 Semifinals at the end of the last season.
Monfils' best finish at the Australian Open came in 2009 when he made it to the fourth round, but he looks poised to advance even further this year.
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7. Tomas Berdych
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The No. 5 player in the world had made the fourth round of the Australian Open for three straight years before he was upset by Evgeny Korolev in the second round of the 2010 edition.
Berdych did enjoy a better 2010 afterwards.
He made the finals of Wimbledon after beating both Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic, but then lost in straight sets to Rafael Nadal.
This was after he made the semifinals at the French Open behind the strength of beating Mikhail Youzhny, John Isner and Andy Murray.
He was defeated in five sets by Robin Soderling in the semis.
Berdych needs his Grand Slam magic to be better than it was at the US Open though, as he was defeated by Michael Llodra in the first round.
6. Fernando Verdasco
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The No. 9 seed in this year's version of the Australian Open is the Spaniard Fernando Verdasco.
Verdasco is the only player in the field who can match the amount of topspin that Rafael Nadal puts on the ball, which will help him immensely on the fast Plexicushion Prestige of Melbourne Park.
His best finish in the Australian Open came in 2009, when he lost in the semifinals to Nadal. The match, which lasted five hours and 14 minutes, remains the longest in the history of the tournament.
Verdasco should be a contender for the duration of the Australian Open.
5. Andy Murray
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Andy Murray may only be the No. 5 seed now, but he still has as much talent as any man that sets foot on a tennis court.
One way we can see this is by looking at Murray's career record against Roger Federer. In 14 tries, Murray has defeated the Fed Express eight times.
Now, none of those wins have come in Grand Slams, but he's still proved that he can take down one of the greatest of all time.
Murray isn't higher up in the power rankings is because of his tendency to mentally collapse on the big stage.
During the last Australian Open, Murray advanced to the semifinals when Rafael Nadal retired with a torn quadriceps. But then he struggled to beat Marin Cilic before losing in straight sets to Federer in the finals.
It's hard to imagine him doing much better this year.
4. Robin Soderling
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The No. 4 seed in the tournament will have to overcome a quarterfinal match with Andy Murray, a semifinal matchup with Rafael Nadal and a final with Roger Federer—assuming all goes according to plan—to take the title at the Australian Open.
Robin Soderling has plenty of power and a monstrous serve, both of which he's used in recent times to end monstrous streaks.
Soderling ended Rafael Nadal's 31-match winning streak at Roland Garros and then defeated Roger Federer to end his run of 23 straight Grand Slam semifinals.
Two more streaks he would love to end are Nadal's Grand Slam victories streak, currently at three, and defending champion Federer's winning streak at Melbourne Park.
3. Novak Djokovic
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After his success in last season's final Grand Slam, Novak Djokovic could very well see that carry over into the 2011 Australian Open.
In the U.S. Open, Djokovic beat Roger Federer in five sets, winning the final two and saving two match points en route to a finals matchup with Rafael Nadal.
Nadal dispatched the Serbian quite easily, winning in four sets.
Djokovic is one of two players not named Federer or Nadal to win a Grand Slam in the last five years.
That one title came back in 2008 when he won the Australian Open.
This year, there's a chance that he could get past Federer and Nadal once more to win his second title.
As good as those two have been lately, it's a long shot, but it could happen.
2. Roger Federer
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Well, he's the No. 2 player in the world and arguably the greatest of all time, but that's a debate to be had another time.
The winner of a record 16 Grand Slams, Roger Federer's most recent major trophy came last year at the Australian Open.
The Federer Express rolled through the tournament, winning his final match against Andy Murray in straight sets.
Federer won his first tournament this year, the Qatar ExxonMobil Open in Doha, without losing a single set.
If it wasn't for the next man in these power rankings, Federer would be the clear No. 1.
1. Rafael Nadal
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The No. 1 player in the world has a great chance to do something that no one else has done in 41 years.
Rod Laver was the last man to hold all four Grand Slam titles at the same time, but now Rafael Nadal has a chance to do the same after winning the French Open, Wimbledon and the U.S. Open in 2010.
Although this tournament doesn't occur in the same calendar year, the Australian Open would still be his fourth straight Grand Slam.
When Nadal is at his best, which he appears to be right now, he's virtually unbeatable.
The man is simply an incredible tennis player and has the best odds to take the title from Roger Federer.
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