Day 1 Matches to Watch

The first round at a grand slam is always a mix of blow-out matches, with qualifiers having run themselves ragged just getting to the main draw or wildcards falling under the buzzsaw of a top seed, and tight affairs that really should have fallen later in the tournament. It's just the luck of the draw. But even when the odds are stacked strongly in favor of one player, there can still be some surprisingly good contests. When a young gun finds himself facing a player in the top ten in the first round of a major, he knows he has nothing lose; he can swing freely, and sometimes that works out.

Looking to the actual matches, the first day of tennis down in Melbourne this year has a good deal of potential for excellent matches. There are quite a few on the docket that will let us know how some of the top players are feeling, physically and mentally, heading into the first major of the year. So let me take a look at some of my choice match-ups for day 1 of the 2010 Australian Open.

Maria Sharapova v. Maria Kirilenko: The first match on Rod Laver arena, this battle of the Marias should be interesting, just to see how Sharapova is feeling. Since she won the title in 2008 but didn't play last year, she's one of two players (the other being Serena) with a winning streak in Melbourne. She only made the third round at the USO last year, but I'm sure she'd like to get back to her winning ways in 2010.

Andy Murray v. Kevin Anderson: It's surprsing to me that Murray made it on to the center court, while Del Potro, who is ranked higher and won the last grand slam, is on Hisense Arena, the second court. It might be because the organizers expect that Kevin Anderson, the big-serving Russian and former NCAA star, could give Murray a run for his money. I expect that Murray will beat his opponent, who is ranked more than 140 places lower, but Anderson does have the kind of big-hitting power game that has troubled Murray in the past.

Peter Luczak v. Rafael Nadal: The night session is starting with a men's match, this year! And it will be a doozy. Peter Luczak is the 30-year old Australian who would is experiencing his best career run. It's a shame for him and his Aussie fans that he happened to run into the defending champion and buzz saw that is Rafael Nadal in the first round. But expect the fans to buoy Luczak, who might take a set.

Jelena Dokic v. Alisa Kleybanova: If Luczak gives Nadal a fight, expect the crowd to be especially riled up in their support of Jelena Dokic. She had a magical run at the AO last year, and they'll do everything they can to help her repeat it this year. She starts against a seed, but she probably couldn't have asked for a better seed to start against. This one could be an upset.

Magdalena Rybarikova v. Dinara Safina: The first match on the second court features Dinara Safina, who should be glad to know that she can't start off this year any worse than she finished the last one. As she struggled against opponents ranked in the 100s at the U.S. Open last year, she has to have reached the bottom. Now that she slipped from the number one spot, maybe she can forget about all the people hounding her about how it was undeserved. Maybe she'll bounce back and play the way she did to get that ranking in the first place. Or maybe she'll continue to falter.

Andy Roddick v. Thiemo De Bakker: On paper, this looks like a Roddick rout. But De Bakker is a tall and rangy young Dutch player, who has a very strong future ahead of him. I'm not saying that one should look for an upset in this match, but Roddick played an incredibly tough match against JW Tsonga in the first round of the Aussie Open in 2007, which Roddick won despite losing a tiebreaker in the first set 20-18. The next year, Tsonga made it all the way to the final.

Guillaume Rufin v. Bernard Tomic: Australian wildcard and young gun Bernard Tomic couldn't have asked for much more when he saw the draw, facing a qualifier. He may not have been thrilled to see the player that he was match with, though. Guillaume Rufin is the highest-ranked teenager on the ATP tour. That may be in 170s, but it's still higher than 17-year old Tomic. It's surprising that two of the handful of teenagers in the men's draw (there can't be more than four) would play each other in the first round. But the Aussies should have Tomic's back, and he'll probably win a match, just like he did last year here, and Rufin did at the French Open in 2009.

Olivier Rochus v. Fernando Gonzalez: Two things that you should know about Olivier Rochus. First of all, he is the shortest player in the ATP top 100. Second, he is so talented, that he would be a top five player if he was five inches taller. If you've ever seen him play, he is a lot of fun to watch. He moves amazingly well, has a beautiful, flowing one-handed backhand, and has an impressive serve considering his diminutive stature. It probably won't be enough to combat the firepower of Fernando Gonzalez, unfortunately.

Marin Cilic v. Fabrice Santoro: This is an odd match. Santoro was invited out of retirement by the Australian Open this year so he'll have the record of having played in a grand slam event in four different decades, since he played his first at the French Open in 1989. But he's said that he's not going to play it like an exhibition, and even at 37 years old, he has the finesse and shot-making ability to frustrate anyone, particularly tall, big-hitting Eastern Europeans. Cilic is a dark horse to make it deep into the tournament, but he'll have to get past a tricky opponent in the first round to do so.

Radek Stepanek v. Ivo Karlovic: This is my favorite first-round match up. After watching last year's Davis Cup tie where they played three tiebreaks and 16-14 fifth set, these guys have demonstrated that they can put on a show. Both players like to come to net, both players frustrate their opponents, and both players like to do celebratory dances when they win. If you're at the event, park yourself at court six as soon as you get in through the gates.

James Blake v. Arnaud Clement: Also on court six, this match has the potential to be a winner. Blake is trying to revive his career and Clement is just coming off a final in the most recent Aussie Open warm-up event. Big-hitting against big-retrieving, this is an interesting match-up in styles. While it could be a good match, it's also the case that Blake is 7-0 against the sunglasses-wearing Frenchman.

Rainer Schuettler v. Sam Querrey: This match looks a lot like the previous one, with a big-hitting American against a counterpuncher. But Sam Querrey has yet to win a match this year, and Schuettler is a former finalist here. Depending on how well he's recovered from his injury during the Asian swing last year, this could be a really tough match.