Australian Open 2015: 5 storylines to watch in Melbourne

The 2015 Australian Open is almost here, and most of the top players will be in action. The big four have been dominant over the past year, but it’s been more of an understated dominance than in recent times. Guys like Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Andy Murray are still winning and should be favored to win in basically every instance, but they’re not winning every tournament of late, and they’re not dominating in every match.

There’s plenty to watch and lots of storylines to follow going into the tournament. It all gets underway on Sunday, at least for folks in the United States. It will be Monday local time, and the first day will feature both Nadal and Federer, taking on unseeded opponents. Djokovic, the top seed, will be in action the next day.

Here are some storylines worth following over the next two weeks:

Will Federer or Djokovic get a fifth Australian Open crown?

Both Federer and Djokovic have four titles apiece at the Australian Open, the same number as Andre Agassi. Nobody has had five in the modern era (Roy Emerson had six a very, very long time ago, when tennis was a much different beast). Federer is on a roll as far as career achievements go, notching his 1,000th career victory in the Brisbane final prior to this tournament.

Can Serena Williams hit the next career milestone?

Williams is the top seed on the women’s singles bracket, and is on the cusp of even more greatness. She has five Australian Open titles and a sixth would essentially move her into third place on the list of successful women in modern tennis. She’s got 18 major titles to her name, alongside Martina Navratilova and Chris Evert, while Steffi Graf is ahead at 22 grand slams to her name, and Margaret Smith Court sits at 24. Williams is favored to win this year, and it would be huge for her career if she manages it.

Who breaks through this time?

As mentioned in the intro of this piece, the big four have been dominant and favored throughout, but they did falter at times last season. When they did, that saw players on the next level breaking through to win big. At least year’s Australian Open, Stan Wawrinka beat Nadal in the finals to win the tournament and could repeat -- though he’s got a match with Djokovic lined up if they both make it to the semifinals. Marin Cilic managed to win the U.S. Open, besting Gilles Simon, Tomas Berdych, Roger Federer and Kei Nishikori en route to the title.

Some have talked about Juan Martin del Potro as a potential dark horse candidate. Del Potro recently returned from a long 10-month layoff due to injury, and was bounced out of a warmup tournament in Sydney, falling to Mikhail Kukushin. That doesn’t bode well for his Australian Open hopes, but it did serve the purpose of getting him back on the court prior to the big tournament. Other guys like Nick Kyrgios and Bernard Tomic should also be watched.

What’s going on with Eugenie Bouchard?

Bouchard really came into her own last season. She’s a fan favorite, and got national attention after making it to the semifinals at the Australian Open a year ago. She beat Ana Ivanovic in the quarterfinals, but lost her semifinal match against Li Na, the No. 4 seed in that tournament. Later in the season, she took her first WTA title and then had a strong performance in the French Open, where she made it to the semifinals again.

At Wimbledon, she made it even further, to the finals against Petra Kvitova, but couldn’t seal the deal. The remainder of her year was a little more low key, and she doesn’t have a permanent coach working with her at this point. It’s unclear how confident she’ll be after slowing down at the end of the season, but she’s a definite contender.

Who is the top hope for a local winner?

The bracket isn’t exactly packed with top-flight Australian talent, but there are a couple big names. On the women’s side, there’s Samantha Stosur, who is the No. 20 seed. She’s got an outside chance of competing, and is the highest-ranked Australian in the tournament. But the real hope likely lies with Nick Kyrgios in the men’s bracket. The 19-year-old bested Nadal at Wimbledon last season, and has a ton of potential and likely a bright future ahead of him. He pulled himself out of a tournament in September due to injuries and fatigue, so hopefully he’s rested and good to go for this Slam.