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.”

In his first match since winning the U.S. Open, the top-ranked Nadal lost only eight points on serve, according to ESPN.com.

Nadal got a hero’s welcome from government and sports officials when he landed in Bangkok nine days ago. In Friday’s quarterfinals, Nadal will meet either Olivier Rochus or Mikhail Kukushkin.

Second-seeded Fernando Verdasco lost to Benjamin Becker 6-4, 6-4. Verdasco, who accepted a wild card to play, fell behind 4-0 in the first set.

Verdasco lost the ninth game of the second set on a double-fault, and Becker held serve with an impressive volley to close the match.

“It was tough. I was practicing well but the match was different,” Verdasco said. “He played better than me. He adapted better than me, he served well and didn’t make many unforced errors. He deserved the victory more than me.”

Nadal had a first-round bye and spent time in the beach town of Hua Hin, taking part in a Buddhist ceremony with monks, and also planted a tree to support King Bhumibol Adulyadej’s campaign against global warming.

In Bangkok, he delayed a visit with Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva and Parliament so he could practice.

Novak Djokovic struggled in his first round match against fellow countryman Victori Troicki. This second match at Arthur Ashe stadium lasted for more than 3 and a half hours as the Serbians exchanged plenty of long rallies. In the end, the third seed Djokovic prevailed 6-3 in the fifth set.

On Louis Armstrong Stadium, Frenchman Arnaud Clement upset 17th seed Marcos Baghdatis in the first round, winning the fifth set 7-5. The 32 year old Clement remains the oldest player left in the men’s draw. 34 year old German veteran Rainer Schuettler, the oldest player to enter the main draw, lost his opening match in a tough fifth set tiebreak to French qualifier Benoit Paire. Other notable five set victories in the first round were by American Mardy Fish and eighth seed Fernando Verdasco.

In the evening session at Arthur Ashe Stadium, first seed Rafael Nadal took out Russian Teymuraz Gabashvili 7-6(4) 7-6(4) 6-3. This was followed by a quick victory by the women’s first seed Caroline Wozniacki, whose match ended just after midnight.

Here’s a look at Days 3 and 4:

Day 3

Day three featured the biggest headline of the tournament so far, as unseeded Janko Tipsarevic eliminated Andy Roddick 3-6 7-5 6-3 7-6(4) in front of a night crowd at Arthur Ashe stadium. Roddick lost his composure in the third set because of a foot fault call, and he kept on complaining about it for several games. Another major upset on the men’s side was by Michael Llodra, who took out seventh seed Tomas Berdych 7-6(3) 6-4 6-4.

On the women’s side, the headline of the day was when 10th seed Victoria Azarenka collapsed during the first set of her second round match against Gisela Dulko. Azarenka was escorted off the court in a wheelchair and was rushed to a local hospital. The 90+ degree weather has been a major factor at the U.S. Open so far, and it took out the young Belarusian.

Day 4

Day four of the U.S. Open did not feature any extraordinary matches on the main show court. Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic, Caroline Wozniacki, and Maria Sharapova all enjoyed straight set victories in their second round matches at Arthur Ashe Stadium.

The upset of the day was by Richard Gasquet, who eliminated sixth seed Nikolay Davydenko in straight sets. However, the most impressive match of the day was between 20 year old Kei Nishikori of Japan and 11th seed Marin Cilic. The young Japanese rising star won the match 5-7 7-6(6) 3-6 7-6(3) 6-1 in a grueling battle that lasted for almost five hours under the scorching heat.

When talking about the favorites for the 2010 U.S. Open, the main focus is on the top four players; Nadal, Federer, Djokovic, and Murray. Andy Roddick, who dropped out of the top 10 and was diagnosed with mono, is unfortunately a long shot at this year’s Open. Defending Champion Del Potro is also out of the conversation, because he has been struggling with injuries all season long and hasn’t played much.

Andy Murray is the current leader of the men’s 2010 U.S. Open Olympus Series, after claiming the Rogers Cup in Toronto, Canada by defeating Roger Federer. Surprisingly, Murray earned a straight set victory of over the greatest player of all time. There is a good chance that Federer may get this rematch at the U.S. Open final.

The Olympus Series standings can be misleading, because Nadal, Federer, and Djokovic arrived at the Rogers Cup without playing any matches since Wimbledon. Djokovic lost to Federer in the Semifinals, while Nadal lost to Murray in the other semifinal. The top four players proved that they are the true candidates for claiming major tournaments during the hard court season, starting with the Masters Series.

There are only two tournaments remaining for the men, the masters at Cincinnati and the Pilot Pen Open in New Haven, Connecticut. Once again, the top four men are the heavy favorites to get to the late stages of the final masters series of the hard court season.

Traditionally, the top players have skipped the Pilot Pen Open, and rather arrived early at the U.S. Open grounds to start preparing for the grand slam. A week of practice should give Nadal, Federer, Djokovic, and Murray plenty of preparation. Nadal, who is ranked number 1, is still seeking the only Grand Slam he hasn’t claimed yet.

Number 6 seed Janko Tipsarevic and number 5 seed Ernests Gulbis both won their first round matches in straight sets, on Monday July 26. Rainer Schuettler, veteran German won his opening match as Horacio Zeballos, his opponent walked away with an injury. Xavier Malisse was taken out by Israeli Dudi Sela 6-1 4-6 6-3.

Travis Parrott and Dusan Vemic were defeated by the duo of Arnaud Clement and Johnathan Erlich, on the double’s side. Somdev Devvarman, Tim Smyczek, Ilija Bozoljac and wild card American Steve Johnson were the winners who were featured in the final qualifying matches, on the opening day.

With some great matches from the Americans, the singles and doubles, action at Los Angeles continued on Tuesday July 27. Against Kristof Vliegen and Ilja Bozoljac, Robby Ginepri and Ryan Sweeting were victorious, respectively. Over Leonardo Mayer, James Blake had a solid win 6-1 6-4. Gabashvilli was taken out by American qualifier Smyczeck 6-2 6-3. At Atlanta last week, Kevin Anderson of South Africa, who reached the semifinals, won his first round match 6-3 6-2 over Ilya Marchenko. Steve Johnson was defeated by Indian Somdev Devvarman 6-4 6-4, in the battle between two qualifiers.

From first round matches, Top seeds Murray, Baghdatis, Querrey and Lopez were excused and got byes into the second round.

Last year’s winner and Davis Cup betting favorite, Spain was eliminated in a surprising 5-0 sweep by the underdog French team. The first three matches were very close, but the French managed to play some great tennis and secure a spot in the World Group semifinals. On the first day, Gael Monfils defeated David Ferrer in five sets, and then Michael Llodra upset Fernando Versaco in four sets. The next day, Llodra teamed up with Julien Benneteau to win the doubles match in four sets against the lefty duo of Feliciano Lopez and Verdasco. This was the first time in nearly 80 years that France defeated Spain in Davis Cup.

In the tie between Argentina and Russia, David Nalbandian was the hero of this clash. Nalbandian won his first rubber against Nikolay Davydenko, and then won the fifth deciding rubber against Mikhail Youzhny. Both victories were in straight sets, and the home Russian crowd didn’t affect Nalbandian’s focus. Argentina won the tie 3-2 and will face France in the semifinal.

The clash between Serbia and Croatia had a lot of tension, mainly because of the historic political problems between the two neighbors. However, Serbian star Novak Djokovic led his team to a 4-1 victory against the Croats. Tipsarevic and Zimonjic also deserve credit for this win at Split, Croatia.

In the last Davis Cup quarterfinal, the Czechs quietly defeated Chile 4-1. Chile’s home advantage didn’t help at all. Also, Fernando Gonzalez‘s absence hurt the Chilean team. Ivo Minar, Jan Hajek, and Lukas Dlouhy helped the Czech team advanced to the semifinal against Serbia.

Tomas Berdych is the defending champ here at this ATP 250 level event in Munich, but current stars Marin Cilic and Mikhail Youzhny will be looking to make this title their own as well. As an extra bonus for the German tennis fans, one of the most exciting players on tour, Marcos Baghdatis will be coming to Munich as part of his clay court season.

The BMW Open is as much of a social event in Germany as a tennis tournament. The tournament makes sure to have the public involved in the tournament as much as possible. There are pro-ams, family programs and nightlife for both the fans and players.

BMW has been a loyal sponsor of the event for sometime. Visitors can check out the new BMW automobiles before and after the matches, they will be able to see the new BMW 5 Series Sedan and the BMW 5 Series Touring. Should be a great event in Munich.

The preview for the 2010 Sony Ericsson Open is definitely exciting as the top players visit the American hard courts for the spring season. First of all, this event will be played right after another major tournament, the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, California. The Indian Wells tournament will play a major role in the confidence and performance of the players as they enter the Sony Ericsson Open.

The World’s number one players and the 2010 Australian Open champions, Roger Federer and Serena Williams are expected to play the Sony Ericsson Open. Federer and Williams are the favorites to win the tournament.

On the men’s side, Federer is expected to face some heavy competition from top players such as Novak Djokovic (#2) and Rafael Nadal (#4). Last year’s champion Andy Murray enters the tournament ranked number 3 in the world. Despite losing to Federer in this year’s Australian Open final, Murray has a great chance to defend his title in Miami.

On the women’s side, besides Serena Williams, a major contender for the title is Victoria Azarenka an Internet betting favorite. The currently #7 ranked Azarenka is the defending champion, as she beat Williams here in the final last year. Azarenka will remember her tough 3 set loss to Serena Williams at this year’s Australian Open, and will seek some revenge on the Miami hard courts.