In other breaking news, the sun rose in the east, Democrats argued with Republicans and the cast of “Jersey Shore” continued to decrease the IQ of the average American.
Thursday’s real increase in excitement came when the draws themselves were revealed for the first Grand Slam of 2011.
While some qualifying is still going on, most players now know who their first-round opponents will be and who will likely be seen down the road as they pursue fame and fortune down under.
Here’s a closer look at both draws:
Men
Nadal is the 800-pound gorilla in the first quadrant of the tournament, and will face Brazil’s Marcos Daniel in the first round. If the seeds play out as written, it will be an all-Spain quarterfinal between Nadal and David Ferrer, who squares off with Jarkko Nieminen in the first round.
Popular American John Isner is the 20th seed, and will start his trek against France’s Florent Serra. Isner’s first big test could be a third-round match-up against Croatia’s Marin Cilic, with the winner likely facing Nadal in the fourth round.
The second quadrant is headlined by two Top five players with a grand total of zero Grand Slam titles between them, plus several names that might make this mini-field of 32 the most intriguing of the four.
Fourth-seeded Robin Soderling stands at the top of the quadrant, taking on Italy’s Potito Starace in the first round, and one of two qualifiers in the second.Soderling must be wary of Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, reportedly finally healthy, and a finalist here in 2008, in the fourth round, while Murray has Cypress’ Marcos Baghdatis potentially in the way in the fourth round, and dark horse Juan Martin del Potro – unseeded – in the field as well.
That leaves the fourth quadrant with No. 2 Roger Federer at one end and American hopeful Andy Roddick at the other. The tournament might be played in Australia, but the fourth quadrant has a decidedly American tint to it, with Roddick, Sam Querrey and Mardy Fish all involved.
Roddick starts his trek for that elusive second major against Jan Hajek, but has a nice draw early on and could go some distance before bumping into Stanislas Wawrinka.
If Roddick makes the quarterfinals, it’s likely he’ll find Gael Monfils waiting for him there.Fish faces off with Victor Hanescu in his first match, while Querrey battles Lukasz Kubot. The two Americans could face off in the third round, with the winner awarded a match against Federer.
Women
No. 1 seeded Wozniacki has been less than impressive so far in 2011, and it could come back to haunt her with front-running Gisela Dulko of Argentina waiting in the first round. Dulko won Hobart on Saturday.
There’s plenty of trouble on down the line for the top-ranked Dane, particularly Dominika Cibulkova in the third round.
Defending French Open champion Francesca Schiavone is at the opposite end of the quadrant, and it’s hard to characterize her as the favorite of this 16-woman field right now.
The second quadrant is full of intriguing match-ups and storylines, with three top 10 seeds. Venus Williams returns to the court for the first time since the 2010 US Open semifinals, but the developing story here is Na Li, who stunned Kim Clijsters in the Sydney final on Friday, her fourth career title. Grand Slam spoiler Kaia Kanepi is another to watch, seeded 20th, as is Victoria Azarenka, who won’t see a name opponent until a likely third-round match with Daniela Hantuchova.
The third quadrant is Clijsters’ to lose, particularly with Jelena Jankovic the only other top 10 seed around. Clijsters will start her campaign against former No.1 Dinara Safina, with rapidly rebounding Ana Ivanovic a possible matchup in the fourth, but otherwise the sailing looks smooth. There are plenty of contenders (besides Jankovic) for the other quarterfinal spot. It might just depend on who gets the hottest at the right time.
The fourth quadrant is home to the female equivalents of Murray – Vera Zvonareva and Samantha Stosur – top six players with no Grand Slams. Stosur reached the final at Roland Garros last year, and Zvonareva did likewise at Wimbledon and the US Open.
Like Wozniacki, Zvonareva needs to watch out right off the bat, facing Austria’s Sybille Bammer, while Stosur takes on American wild card Lauren Davis. Fellow American and Super Smurf Melanie Oudin is in Zvonareva’s half of the bracket. If she get past Klara Zakoplaova, and either Lucie Safarova or Shuai Zhang, she could get her shot at the world’s No. 2 player in the third round.