The first Grand Slam of the ATP and WTA seasons, the Australian Open, kicked off today. Though Melbourne is 19 hours ahead of New York, ESPN, ESPN2, and ESPN360.com will alternate broadcasting the live coverage during its two-week run.

The Men’s Draw
by Thomas Conroy

The first of tennis’ four Grand Slam tournaments – the Australian Open — will take place over the next two weeks. New players on the tour will try to make a name for themselves by performing well in Melbourne. We also have some carry-over questions that might be answered by the end of the tournament: How dominant will Roger Federer be this season? Can Rafeal Nadal handle the pressure of being the #1 player week-after-week for an entire season? Has Andy Murray’s game matured enough to gain a Grand Slam title this season? Is Andy Roddick at the crossroads in his tennis career?

Federer played the majority of the tour last year with mononucleosis, and could never regain his strength until dominating the U.S. Open competition for a Grand Slam victory last September. But some skeptics feel that at the age of 27, Federer’s reign in the sport is over, supplanted by Nadal’s incredible 2008 season. Some even say that Federer’s net game was exposed for good after his subpar play last season.

The upcoming tour season will be different for Nadal than in years past, as he will not only be the favorite of his beloved French Open on the red clay but he’ll also be favored at the Australian, Wimbledon, and U.S. Open. It could become a physically and mentally draining season for Nadal, as every player will bring their A game to try to beat the top player in the world.

Murray is the wild card. He has only been twice beyond the fourth round in a Grand Slam tournament; his best performance was a runner-up finish last year at the U.S. Open, losing to Federer. He will have to control his combustible temper to win a Grand Slam title, though it should be noted that Murray has come into the 2009 season in better shape. He now realizes that stamina in a match is every bit as important as his blistering forehand shot.

Roddick has also come into the season with a couple new wrinkles: he is in better shape and, more importantly, has a new personal coach. He brought in Larry Stefanski (who helped Fernando Gonzalez to reach the Australian Open final in 2007) to replace legendary Jimmy Connors and Stefanski’s main job is to calm Roddick’s demeanor on the court. The thought of a lighter, faster Roddick reacting better on volleys has some thinking that he can go deep in Melbourne this week. His singles title at the 2003 U.S. Open seems like a long, long time ago.

It will be a tough draw for Federer, as he could face former #1 player Carlos Moya in the second round, 2005 Aussie Open champion Marat Safin in the third round, and last year’s Australian Open champion Novak Djokovic in a semi-final match-up. Nadal and Murray are on course to meet in the semis on the other side of the draw.

The Women’s Draw
by Christopher Glotfelty

For the top-ranked women in tennis, this tournament has more riding on it than last year. With 2000 points awarded to the winner, a new #1 player could emerge.

Last year, Maria Sharapova defeated Ana Ivanovic in straight sets to win her third Grand Slam. Unfortunately, shoulder injuries would plague Sharapova the rest of year and, due to that absence, she would continue to fall in the rankings. Still sidelined, Sharapova will miss this tournament along with Lindsay Davenport, who is having her second child.

Nevertheless, the competition remains fierce. Jelena Jankovic, while the #1 ranked player on the Tour, has yet to win a Grand Slam. Second-ranked Serena Williams, third-ranked Dinara Safina, and fourth-ranked Elena Dementieva are all less than 2000 points behind Jankovic. As a result, if Jankovic fails to make it to make it the quarterfinals, one of these women would claim the #1 position if they were to win the tournament. That’s how evenly matched the WTA is.

Given the amount of young talent on the court, Venus and Serena are already living legends. To put it in perspective, Serena has already won nine singles Grand Slams, three at the Australian Open. Her sister Venus has won seven, and though she’s never won at the Australian Open, she’s finished runner-up twice.

The other favorites (Jankovic, Safina, Dementieva, Ivanovic) have only one Grand Slam between them, with Ivanovic winning at last year’s French Open. The Williams sisters don’t have anything to prove, but I wouldn’t be surprised to see one of them in the finals against either Jankovic or Safina.