January 16, 2006	Monday	Zilhaj 15, 1426

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MELBOURNE, Jan 15: A year ago it took a big Russian to stop Roger Federer. The question this time is whether Andy Roddick, Lleyton Hewitt, David Nalbandian and company have what it takes to beat the masterful Swiss at the Australian Open. In an injury-depleted men’s singles, Federer is an overwhelming favourite to win his second title and make up for his semifinal defeat by Marat Safin in 2005.

His chances have increased significantly with the withdrawals through injury of Safin, world number two Rafael Nadal and four times champion Andre Agassi.

Federer’s record in last year’s Grand Slams give his opponents little comfort — semifinals at the Australian and French Open, winner of Wimbledon and the US Open.

He also claimed the Qatar Open title without losing a set in his first outing of 2006.

The one question mark hangs over Federer’s ability to play through two weeks in the heat of the Australian summer after he injured his ankle late last year.

Roddick’s chances of winning his first Melbourne crown have improved after Spanish teenager Nadal lost his fitness battle.

The American has been elevated to second seed, saving the American from a possible confrontation with his nemesis Federer until the Jan 29 final.

Roddick has won just once in 11 meetings with Federer and has come off second best in the last two Wimbledon finals.

Local hopes will rest again on third seed Lleyton Hewitt, who faces a possible semifinal against Federer and lost to Safin in last year’s final.

That semifinal loss to Safin was the first of only four in 85 matches played by the world’s number one last year.

Federer has won his last 45 competitive matches on hardcourt, the surface in Melbourne. Hewitt has lost his last nine matches against the 24-year-old.

Hewitt’s own form remains something of a mystery after he lost in the Sydney International this week to Italian Andreas Seppi. The feisty Australian is recovering from a stomach bug which almost forced him to pull out of his first round match in Sydney.

One man who has proved he has no fear of Federer is fourth seed David Nalbandian. The Argentine came from two sets down to win the season-ending Masters Cup in Shanghai and end the Swiss player’s run of 24 consecutive final victories.

Nalbandian, who pulled out of Kooyong with a viral infection, could go beyond the quarterfinals in Melbourne for the first time after he was drawn in the bottom half of the men’s singles — away from Federer.

Meanwhile, the return of Martina Hingis has added an intriguing twist to an Australian Open women’s tournament overflowing with talent and mystery.

The former world number one appeared in six consecutive Australian Open finals between 1997 and 2002, winning three times, before injury forced her into premature retirement.

Now 24, Hingis is back for another shot at the title but the game is very different from when the “Swiss Miss” ruled.

Women’s tennis is more competitive than ever and there are at least a dozen genuine hopefuls for the first major of 2006.

The field includes 10 Grand Slam winners and eight players who have held the number one ranking, making it possibly the most open Australian Open staged at Melbourne Park.

The last seven women’s Grand Slam tournaments have been won by seven different players. Unlike the men’s tournament, where world number one Roger Federer is an overwhelming favourite, the rankings offer little guidance for finding the women’s winner.

The current world number one is Lindsay Davenport. She won the Australian Open in 2000 and was runner-up to Serena Williams last year. She also made the final at Wimbledon but hasn’t won a Grand Slam in six years.

Kim Clijsters of Belgium is ranked number two. She was runner-up in the Australian Open two years ago but has been plagued by injuries ever since.

She captured her first Grand Slam title at last year’s US Open and was probably the favourite to win in Melbourne before she injured her hip in a lead-up event in Sydney.

Amelie Mauresmo also finished last year in great form, winning the season-ending championship. But the powerfully-built Frenchwoman has not made a Grand Slam final since she lost to Hingis in Melbourne in 1999.

Russian pin-up Maria Sharapova won Wimbledon two years ago but is yet to add to her collection of majors. She blew a match point in her semifinal loss to Serena in Australia last year and is carrying a shoulder injury.

The Williams sisters, Serena and Venus, are also under fitness clouds and have slipped down the rankings, though their past records prove they can never be underestimated.

Defending champion Serena, now ranked 13th in the world, was unstoppable in 2002 and 2003 when she won all four Grand Slams in a row while Venus, ranked 20th, silenced her doubters when she won her third Wimbledon crown last year.

World number five Mary Pierce also proved her detractors wrong when she reached the French and US Open finals last year while Justine Henin-Hardenne showed she is anything but a spent force by winning the French Open after coming back from injury.

Former US Open champion Svetlana Kuznetsova and her Russian compatriots Anastasia Myskina, a French Open winner, and Elena Dementieva are also lurking in a draw made all the more fascinating by the spread of seeds.—Reuters