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This year, some of the top American tennis players will once again return to Memphis. The hard indoor surface suits the fast paced and big hitting game of U.S.A.’s top guns Andy Roddick, Sam Querrey, Mardy Fish, and James Blake.

There are also somewhat surprising appearances from Spaniard Fernando Verdasco and Frenchman Gael Monfils. It is puzzling why they prefer the North American tournament instead of the other scheduled events at Marseille, France and Buenos Aires, Argentina.

The Memphis crowd will be eager to greet defending Champion Sam Querrey, who took out fellow American John Isner in last year’s final. It looks like John Isner will not compete at the event this year, as he withdrew from the recent tournament in Rotterdam, Holland. Sam Querrey’s prospects of repeating last year’s performance are not as promising. The big serving American has played only two matches in 2011, both of which he lost in Australia.

Andy Roddick comes in good shape and will probably be the first seed at Memphis because of his current 8th world ranking. Roddick is familiar with holding the trophy at the event, from his pleasant memories in 2002 and 2009. The number one American will be eager to bounce back from his straight loss in the round of 16 of this year’s Australian Open.

Fernando Verdasco, who is ranked 9th in the world, will probably take the second seed spot, and he will be one of the strong contenders this year. The hard hitting lefty will strive for better results than his first round exit here last year.

The final was a hard hitting match full of long rallies and plenty of forehand and backhand exchanges. Li Na took the first set 6-3 in 38 minutes. She won the opening set with a running forehand pass winner. In the second set, Clijsters recovered and claimed it in about an hour. In the third set, the Belgian got off to a quick start and led 4-1. Moments later, Li Na’s final ball landed well beyond the baseline and Clijsters celebrated her first ever Australian Open title and fourth total Grand Slam.

The men’s final was one-sided and disappointed many in the tennis world. Novak Djokovic comfortably defeated Andy Murray 6-4 6-2 6-3. The young rising Serb repeated his 2008 performance by claiming his second Aussie and Grand Slam title.

The first was set just what everyone expected it to be, a physical battle that lasted for 60 minutes. At 5-4 and 30-15 on Murray’s serve, Djokovic won a 39 shot rally that took the breath out of both players. Moments later, Djokovic claimed the first set as Murray’s forehand landed out, but close to the baseline. The shot was challenged and confirmed by the review system.

In the second set, Murray was completely disoriented and it flew past him in 40 minutes. Djokovic led 5-0 in that set. The third set was more competitive and lasted for an hour, but Murray was never able to get into the match. Besides an aggressive game plan, Djokovic played incredible defense. Murray’s 47 unforced errors and a lack of energy cost him a chance to truly contend for the Aussie title.

On the men’s side, the story of the week is all about Alexandr Dolgopoov, the 22 year old Ukranian who is ranked 46th and pulled off two major upsets. In the third round, Dolgopolov took out 2008 Australian Open finalist Jo Wilfried Tsonga in five sets. In the next round, Dolgopolov had an even more impressive five set victory over fourth seed Robin Soderling, who was a major contender for the Aussie Grand Slam.

Another upset on the men’s draw was when 8th seeded Andy Roddick lost his fourth round match in straight sets to Swiss Stanislas Wawrinka. Stan fell in the quarterfinals to fellow compatriot and good friend Roger Federer.

Federer has shown vulnerabilities on his quest to defend the Australian Open title. He struggled in five sets in his second round match against Gilles Simon. In the fourth round, Fed dropped the second set against Tommy Robredo. The Swiss maestro will have to play his best game in the semifinal against Novak Djokovic, who lost only one set so far.

In the women’s competition, history was made as Francesva Schiavone defeated Svetlana Kuznetsova in a fourth round match that lasted four hours and forty four minutes. The epic duel on Rod Laver Arena became the longest women’s Grand Slam match.
Schiavone put up a tough fight in the quarterfinal but it wasn’t enough to beat first seed Caroline Wozniacki. There is a good chance of a 2009 US Open repeat final, as Wozniacki and Clijsters might meet on championship day in Melbourne.

In Brisbane, Australia unseeded Czech Petra Kvitova defeated German Andrea Petkovic 6-1 6-3. First seeded Aussie Samantha Stosur lost early in the second round. Although that was a good performance from both young players, they are not exactly part of the conversation about the contenders for the Australian Open.

At the same time in Auckland, New Zealand, Greta Arn of Hungary defeated Yanina Wickmayer of Belgium 6-3 6-3. The unseeded Hungarian was a surprise finalist, and she beat first seed Maria Sharapova along the way to the title. The two finalists are also not real threats in his year’s first Grand Slam. However, the women’s side of the draw at the Australian Open is notorious for surprise performances.

The last warm up events are at Hobart and Sydney, both held on Australian soil. Most of the focus is on Sydney because it features the top women’s players. The world’s number one ranked player Caroline Wozniacki was knocked out in the second round by Dominika Cibulkova. World’s number 2 player Vera Zvonareva also lost early. Meanwhile, Kim Clijsters cruised to the final to face China’s star player Li Na.

Defending champion Serena Williams will be absent because of an injury, while sister Venus will compete as the fourth seed. Without Serena, the women’s field in Melbourne is wide open.

Just two weeks long, players must get off to a quick start this season, and get used to the hot and fast conditions of Australia. The first tournaments of the 2011 season have revealed a lot about the shape that some of the top men are in. Robin Soderling clinched the Brisbane International title by defeating Andy Roddick 6-3 7-5. The big serving Swede hit 16 aces over the American, who was the defending champion. Stanislas Wawrinka claimed the Chennai Open in India, with a win over surprise finalist Xavier Malisse. Wawrinka upset the number one seed Tomas Berdych en route to the championship.

At the same time not too far away in Doha, Qatar, Roger Federer captured the tournament with a 6-3 6-4 win over defending champion Nikolay Davydenko. Everyone expected a final between Federer and Nadal. However, Rafa suffered a surprising 6-3 6-2 loss to Davydenko in the semifinal.

Currently, tournaments in Sydney, Australia and Auckland, New Zealand give players the last chance to prepare for the Aussie Open. However, the true contenders for the Australian Open, such as Federer and Nadal, will not compete in these last warm up events.

Last year’s runner up Andy Murray has decided to skip the warm up tournaments and train directly for the open in hopes of reaching the final again. However, most of the focus is on Federer and Nadal who could clash in the championship match because of their first and second seedings.

Besides the top two guns, it looks like Robin Soderling is ready to make some real damage in a hard court Grand Slam. 2008 champion Nodak Djokovic, who also skipped the first tournaments of the year, is also a major contender for the 2011 Australian Open.

Roy Emerson was the dominant player in the Australian Open on a yearly basis and had a great track record for winning Grand Slams and. Emerson had won the Australian Open for 4 consecutive seasons coming into the 1967 season, according to tennis news report. Emerson came out and played a fantastic tournament. To win the Australian Open for the 5th consecutive year this stellar play would be enough for him.

The French Open would be the next Grand Slam. In each of the previous 5 seasons the tournament had been won by a different player. Fred Stolle, Emerson and Santana were all among those players that had won it within the past 5 seasons. This would not be their year, while Stolle and Santana would have liked to get another Grand Slam in that tournament. Emerson came out with fire and managed to take home his second Grand Slam of the season.

Even though it was clear by John Newcombe’s play in the next tournament that he would have what it took to win, he had never won a Grand Slam coming into the season. He marched through the tournament en route to winning the first Grand Slam of his career. This would be the first of many for Newcombe, who would finish with 7 Grand Slams when all was said and done.

Emerson never would win another Grand Slam after winning the French Open. That victory was the 12th and final Grand Slam of his career.

The U.S. Open would be the last tournament. Stolle won this tournament, Santana and Emerson in the previous three years. While they all had success in the tournament previously, none of them were able to come through again in 1967. Instead the tournament was won by John Newcombe and he grabbed the attention of the men’s tennis world immediately.

The event will feature the top 100 men and top 98 women in the world rankings, giving the Open one of its best-ever fields.

The lineup is topped by World No. 1 Rafael Nadal, who will be attempting to win his fourth straight major, and No. 2 Roger Federer, who will be going for his fifth Australian Open title.

On the women’s side, World No. 1 Caroline Wozniacki will be trying for her first Grand Slam title. Two-time champion Serena Williams is the most glaring absentee from the lineup, as she is nursing a foot injury.

Also in the men’s draw is 2009 U.S. Open champion Juan Martin Del Potro of Argentina and Dmitry Tursunov of Russia, both with injury-protected rankings.

The Australian Open takes place Jan. 17 to 30 at Melbourne Park.
The women’s draw features 107 direct acceptances, excluding Elena Dementieva of Russia, who retired at the end of the season, and No. 37 Agnes Szavay of Hungary, who is injured.

“To have the top 104 players in the world in the men’s main draw is incredible and shows the high esteem with which the Australian Open is held in world tennis,” tournament director Craig Tiley said Saturday in a statement. “The women’s field also has every available top player in the world.”

These two players dominated men’s tennis major tournaments this year, winning all four between them. Nadal won the French Open, U.S. open and Wimbledon with Federer making it 16 major titles by winning the Australian Open title. The two competitors have combined to win 21 of the last 23 majors.

The victory in the ATP provides some sense of revenge for Federer, who has lost 14 of 22 matches played against Nadal. Rafael has also ended Roger’s long time dominance of the number one ranking in men’s tennis, and now holds the top position to Federer’s number two spot.

They have met three times in this season-ending tournament, with Federer winning all three. He dominated his service points on Sunday, only dropping 13 points in the entire match which was won in three sets by a score of 6-3, 3-6, 6-1. Nadal could only manage one break of server in the second set, and Federer appeared to frustrate the Spaniard by keeping the points short and staying on the offensive throughout the match.

A three-hour semifinal against Andy Murray the previous day may have contributed to Nadal’s loss, as he appeared to tire late in the match. To his credit, Nadal did not cite this as the reason for his loss and praised Federer for the way he played all week.

A pre-tournament favorite, Williams survived a quarter-final scare against Victoria Azarenka, fighting back from being a set and 0-4 down to progress.

Henin was a wildcard entry and is only the second wildcard ever to reach a grand slam final, having thrashed Zheng Jie 6-1 6-0 in her semi-final.

Williams is a four-time Australian Open winner and is the current defending champion. Henin is a previous Australian Open champion in 2004, but is playing in only her second tournament since returning from an 18-month retirement.

This game will be seen as the strength and power of Williams against the more rounded game of the physically smaller Henin. Williams possesses exceptional power both on her serve and her range of shots, Henin also has a powerful serve but is known for footwork, variety, and an exceptional one-handed backhand among the best in the women’s game.

The bookmakers are predicting a close fought final with Williams a slight favorite in some corners. Williams is a 4/5 favorite with Henin even money. Other Sportsbook have it even tighter offering equal 10/11 betting odds on both Henin or Williams to win.