By Richard Pagliaro | Thursday, January 10, 2019
A year removed from hip surgery, five-time finalist Andy Murray and 2018 semifinalist Kyle Edmund face demanding draws at the Australian Open.
Photo credit: Australian Open Facebook
Melbourne's Federation Square is a long way from Times Square.
But first ball at the Australian Open can evoke the same enthralled anticipation in tennis fans as New Year's Eve revelers excitedly awaiting the ball to drop in New York.
More: Federer and Nadal In Same Half of Autralian Open Draw
Of course, every celebration can summon its own unique highs and lows.
Melbourne Park presents hangover prospects for five players hammered by challenging Australian Open draws.
These are the big names who could be in big trouble in the year's opening Grand Slam.
No. 13 Kyle Edmund
Coming off a career-best semifinal result in Melbourne, Edmund won't see a welcome mat in return. Edmund's potent serve and pile-driver forehand will be put to the test at the outset. The British No. 1 opens against Tomas Berdych, who has reached the Australian Open quarterfinals or better in seven of the last eight years.
A back injury sidelined Big Berd for six months, knocking him out of Wimbledon and the US Open, but Berdych returned with a bang reaching the Doha final in his comeback tournament last week. If Edmund, who fell to the 33-year-old Czech in their lone prior meeting at the 2016 Doha, navigates the former Wimbledon finalist he may well be staring down seeds Diego Schwartzman and world No. 2 Rafael Nadal.
Ouch.
Andy Murray
Given where the three-time Grand Slam champion was at this time last year—staring at the ceiling from a hospital bed after undergoing hip surgery in Melbourne—his mere presence in the field is a big win for the former No. 1 and fans.
Yet it's hard to imagine Murray, who has looked hobbled this season, just hanging around if he doesn't believe his body. No one knows better than the five-time finalist how Melbourne can dispense both promise and pain.
The 31-year-old Scot receives no reprieve in his return facing Doha champion Roberto Bautista Agut in an arduous opener. This is the tennis equivalent of a boxer with bad ribs facing a fighter who specializes in body blows.
Bautista Agut isn't even getting warmed up until he's hit six or seven balls in a rally and the tough Spaniard is adept driving his flat strikes down the line. Skills he showed knocking off world No. 1 Novak Djokovic, three-time Slam champion Stan Wawrinka and Berdych en route to the Doha title last week.
Murray showed a sense of humor about past Melbourne near-misses posting this image on Instagram along with the capion "The closest I'll ever get to the Aussie Open trophy."
"Murray's health sadly doesn't seem to be allowing him to compete at the level where he'll be challenged until that can get corrected, if it can be, and I certainly hope that it can," two-time Australian Open champion and Tennis Channel analyst Jim Courier said.
No. 16 Milos Raonic and Nick Kyrgios
Massive servers square off in a blockbuster opener that should carry a Surgeon General's warning.
Two explosive forces can be extreme dangers—to opponents and themselves as both have battled injury. The survivor of this first-round wall-breaker will play either 2014 champion Stan Wawrinka or 2014 French Open semifinalist Ernests Gulbis in the second round.
Remember, just three years ago Raonic played the Australian Open semifinals and Wimbledon final in the same season. Yet a litany of injury have left some questioning if his time as a major contender has passed.
"Raonic is just too brittle physically," ESPN analyst Patrick McEnroe told Tennis Now.
The enigmatic Kyrgios, who curiously continues to play without a real coach and seemingly without any concern for point construction, remains one of the most entertaining talents in the game when he's engaged and energized.
The question is: Will he be?
Who knows? Kyrgios himself probably won't know until he steps out on court and even then his interest can ebb and flow.
No. 9 John Isner
The former Georgia Bulldog showed major bite backing up his Wimbledon semifinal surge with a US Open quarterfinal appearance—the best back-to-back Slam performances of his career—which should be empowering here.
Enter one of only two men Isner literally looks up to on Tour: 6'11" compatriot Reilly Opelka presenting a towering opening test.
The good news for tiebreak titan Isner is the Australian Open adopted a final-set tie break.
The bad news is even if takes down the Oak Tree in round one, Isner could run into 2017 semifinalist Grigor Dimitrov, now working with coach Andre Agassi. Five of seven sets Isner and Dimitrov have played have gone to tiebreaks.
The heat has short-circuited Long John in the past: Isner has failed to surpass the third round in six of his last seven Melbourne appearances.
The forecast calls for scorchers the first three days of the tournament and while Isner sometimes plays possum on court feigning more fatigue than he's feeling if you're 6'10, 240 pounds running around in severe heat for a few hours you will feel it and it will drain you.