Australian Open facing the prospect of being without some of tennis’s biggest stars

THINK twice about buying tickets to the Australian Open because this could be the most underwhelming major we’ve seen Down Under.

Rafael Nadal is no certainty to line up in Melbourne.

ROGER Federer will be licking his lips in anticipation of a depleted Australian Open field that could pave the way for him to win his second straight major at Melbourne Park and his sixth grand slam title Down Under.

The Swiss veteran is warming up for the year’s first grand slam at the Hopman Cup in Perth as rivals drop like flies around him. While he no doubt wishes he could play against the very best in the world, his competitors’ bad luck is only good news for him.

Three-time grand slam champion Andy Murray pulled out of the Open this week with a hip injury and former World No. 5 Kei Nishikori cited a wrist issue as the reason he won’t be in action later this month.

Add to that recent health concerns surrounding the other members of the “Big Four” and Federer’s path towards claiming a 20th career major trophy looks a lot easier. Novak Djokovic recently pulled out of events in Abu Dhabi and Doha with elbow soreness and while he will play exhibition tournaments in Australia, a final decision on his participation in Melbourne won’t be made until the six-time Australian open champion sees how he pulls up from those events.

World No. 1 Rafael Nadal struggled at the ATP Finals in November and is fighting knee problems in a bid to be fit come January 15. He pulled out of this week’s Brisbane International after earlier canning a Christmas training block in Majorca.

Other big names Milos Raonic and Stan Wawrinka are on the comeback trail from long-term injuries. Wawrinka hasn’t played since Wimbledon midway through 2017 and joined Djokovic in skipping last week's exhibition event in Dubai, while Raonic’s appearance at the Brisbane International — where he lost in the second round to Aussie youngster Alex De Minaur — represented his first taste of tennis after a three-month absence.

Kei Nishikori will be a no-show.

In addition to these doubts, world No. 8 Jack Sock quit his Hopman Cup match on Tuesday after hurting his hip in a nasty on-court fall in Perth. But he returned in a brave 6-7 (5-7) 5-7 loss to Federer on Thursday night and said he is getting treatment every day in a bid to ensure he’s fit for the Open.

The prospect of the biggest Australian tennis tournament going ahead without some of the sport’s most recognisable faces — and the risk those that do play will suffer early exits because they are far from feeling 100 per cent — must be worrying for organisers who will no doubt be keen to avoid a repeat of the US Open last Spring.

The event at Flushing Meadows went ahead without Wawrinka, Djokovic, Nishikori, Raonic and Murray and was rocked by the shock early eliminations of household names Alexander Zverev, Marin Cilic, Grigor Dimitrov and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga.

It left largely unheralded names in the bottom section of the draw fighting it out in underwheling quarter-final clashes.

But Australian Open tournament director Craig Tiley remains confident those stars still under injury clouds will pull through.

“I spoke to Novak and he’s already got every hour of the day planned between when he arrives and the start of the Open, so he’ll be ready,” Tiley said. “And the same thing with Rafa, who’s on his way down here now, and he’ll be ready.

“Not dissimilar to where we were in 2017. We’ve got 128 men and 128 women.”

Andy Murray will be absent.

The women’s Open has also been hit by a superstar withdrawal as new mum Serena Williams decided she wasn’t ready to return to the grand slam arena. Williams was coy about her plans to defend her title after losing to French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko in Dubai last week but released a statement on Friday confirming she had decided to pull out.

“After performing in my first match after giving birth I realised that although I am super close I’m not where I personally want to be,” Williams said.

“I am disappointed to say I’ve decided not to compete in the Australian Open this year.

“However, the memory of last year’s Open is one that I will carry with me and (daughter) Olympia and I look forward to coming back again.”

Out of the 2018 Australian Open
Andy Murray
Kei Nishikori
Serena Williams
Svetlana Kuznetsova

Novak Djokovic???
Stan Wawrinka???

— Christopher Clarey (@christophclarey) January 5, 2018

Two-time Open champion and fellow former world No. 1 Victoria Azarenka pulled out of the Auckland Classic for “personal reasons” as the Belarusian continues to battle for custody of her son with her former American partner.

World No. 9 Johanna Konta is also unsure if her Australian Open preparations are in jeopardy after she was forced to retire from her Brisbane International quarter-final due to injury.

The world No. 9 succumbed to a right hip problem early in the second game of the third set of her clash against Ukraine’s Eline Svitolina on Thursday at Pat Rafter Arena.

— with AAP