MELBOURNE, Australia — As the players took their turn addressing the media over the past few days at Melbourne Park, one common theme came to light: They’re ready. They’re pumped. They’re feeling good. Bring on the Aussie Open!
OK, perhaps the news of Andy Murray was a bit of a downer, but even he was out at Rod Laver Arena on Saturday cracking some groundstrokes and, more importantly, cracking a smile along the way.
Still, while the odds of Murray advancing too far in this draw don’t appear to be favorable, there’s little reason to think the other top contenders will fall early.
So who will win? Who will surprise us? Our experts, Cliff Drysdale, Chrissie Evert, Brad Gilbert, Patrick McEnroe and Pam Shriver, handed in their picks. Have a look:
Men’s singles
Women’s singles
Men’s surprise pick
One player 17th or lower in the rankings who can make an impact:
Women’s surprise pick
One player 17th or lower in the rankings who can make an impact: