The 2015 tennis season gets "properly" underway in the early hours of Monday morning as the Australian Open, the traditional first Grand Slam of the Year begins.
Four time champion Novak Djokovic is favourite for the men's title with Roger Federer who won his 1000th game recently and fit again Rafael Nadal not far behind. Defending champion Stanislas Wawrinka is sure to want a say as well.
Here are five men though that could also be making headlines in Melbourne over the next couple of weeks.
Andy Murray
It might seem an obvious choice to pick the man from Dunblane, but as Murray enters 2015 he stands at somewhat of a crossroads in his career. A difficult 2014 saw him struggle to reach his best form after returning from back surgery, though in the latter half of the season he did win three titles in the space of five weeks to ensure he reached the World Tour finals in London. A thrashing by Federer at the O2 ensured a terrible end to the year, in which he failed to reach a slam final for the first time since 2009.
Having kept faith in coach Amelie Mauresmo for now, the early signs in 2015 have been good for Murray. He might only have played in exhibition matches, but he notched up an impressive win over Nadal in Abu Dhabi as well as winning all three of his singles matches at the Hopman Cup.
In the close season, Murray made the tough decision to part ways with long time coach and hitting partner Dani Vallverdu as well as fitness coach Jez Green. Comments in recent days suggest Murray thinks he's in ideal shape to try and win a tournament at which he's reached the final at three times. He'll need to be fully fit as he's been handed a tough draw, which potentially pits him against his Wimbledon conqueror from last year Grigor Dimitrov in round four and then the trio of Federer, Nadal and Djokovic from the quarters onwards.
Murray does love the Melbourne hardcourts, but with the tough draw and the fact he is still searching for his best game, he heads into the tournament with an outside chance.
Kei Nishikori
The man from Japan made himself known to the wider public when he made it all the way to the US Open final last year before losing out to Marin Cilic. His victory over World Number one Novak Djokovic in the semi final showed all his capabilities as a top player and his form last year means he goes into this tournament as world number five and as a serious contender.
Coach Michael Chang has brought a new belief and aggression to Nishikori's game which enabled him to win four titles in 2014. His best run in Melbourne is a run to the quarter finals in 2012 but he is a much more dangerous prospect now as shown by wins over Djokovic, Federer and Murray last year.
A tricky first round tie against Spain's Nicolas Almagro awaits but Nishikori remains a great outside bet for the title.
Grigor Dimitrov
After starting to realise his potential in 2014, the big question now is can Dimitrov win a slam in 2015? He got into the world's top eight last year and is currently ranked 11th but has been tipped by John McEnroe to be the next new Grand Slam champion.
He showed his capabilities last year winning titles on three different surfaces as well as defeating defending champion Andy Murray at Wimbledon on his way to the semi finals. He also made the quarter finals in Melbourne in 2014 taking Nadal to four sets.
There are still big question marks over Dimitrov and whether he has the consistency and attitude of someone like Nishikori to go all the way in a slam as his form in the second half of 2014 tailed off badly meaning he missed out on the world tour finals in London. It seems inevitable that he will win a slam but he's been hyped up for so long, its easy to forget he's only 23.
The draw hasn't been too kind to him with a first round tie against the energetic Dustin Brown potentially giving him a few headaches. A third round tie against David Goffin is a potential banana skin, but get through that and he could face Murray who will be keen to avenge his Wimbledon loss so he faces tough ties to even make the last eight in Australia, but on form he is more than capable of going deep into the tournament.
Dimitrov is frustrating and exciting to watch in equal measure, so that's why his progress is well worth following.
Nick Kyrgios
The Australian youngster who is still only 19 stunned the tennis world when he defeated Rafael Nadal in the fourth round at Wimbledon last year which included a winning shot he played through his legs. The teenager also defeated Richard Gasquet, a top ten player and 2007 Wimbledon semi finalist in the second round, leading to him being labelled as one of the stars of the future.
He subsequently made the third round of the US Open before skipping the rest of the season, saying he was burnt out. Fresh for 2015, big things are expected of Kyrgios who is now in the top 50 in the world. Winner of the junior title in Melbourne two years ago, he'll be hoping to make a big impression in the main draw. With a potential match up against Ivo Karlovic in round two, it won't be easy but with a home crowd backing him, he could be a surprise package down under.
David Goffin
Now ranked 22nd in the world, the Belgian won the comeback player of the year award in 2014. Having burst on the scene in 2012 when he reached the fourth round of the French Open after only getting in as a 'lucky loser', Goffin's career didn't go upwards as planned as he slipped to 110th in the world rankings.
However, a first round defeat by Murray at Wimbledon last year spurred Goffin on to finally realise his potential. Between July and August he won four successive tournaments and although three of them were at Challenger level, winning 20 matches in a row took some going.
He then followed that up by winning the ATP final in Metz beating Jo Wilfried Tsonga along the way before reaching the Swiss Indoors final in October.
He'll be looking to get past the first round for the first time in Australia but with renewed confidence, he'll be feeling good about his chances.
My pick for the title remains Novak Djokovic, who excels on these courts but Nishikori is a great outside bet.
Saturday 17 January 2015
Wednesday 7 January 2015
How Gary Anderson became World Champion
Scotland has a new world champion. And we should all be shouting the name of Gary Anderson from the rooftops.
The 44 year old from Eyemouth in the Scottish Borders was crowned Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) world champion after a thrilling 7-6 victory over the greatest ever darts player, Phil "The Power" Taylor at the Alexandra Palace in London on Sunday night.
The chance to lift the world championship trophy had been a long time coming for Anderson. Although he had only previously only reached one world final in 2011 when he lost to Adrian Lewis, the Scot was regularly heralded as the best player to never win a world title.
That was because of his terrific form over a number of years, including a win in the final of the 2011 Premier League as well as wins in the World Darts Trophy and the International Darts League in 2007. He also came into this year's World Championships in terrific form having won the Players Championship just before hand as well as notching up semi final appearances at the World Grand Prix and World Matchplay.
Anderson didn't have it plain sailing in London though, far from it. American Scott Kirchner with his ludicrously slow style of play unnerved Anderson in round one, making him average only 86 in a nervous match.
Round Two saw Anderson on the brink of defeat at one point against Dutchman Jelle Klaasen. He was 3-1 down in a race to four and was a leg away from an early exit before roaring back to win 4-3.
Further battles had to be overcome against Spaniard qualifier Cristo Reyes in the third round where he was a set down early on. Anderson's best performance so far came in the quarter final against Peter Wright which set up a semi final against reigning world champion Michael Van Gerwen, whom Anderson lost to into the third round of the 2014 event, despite leading 3-1.
It looked as though history was going to repeat itself, as Van Gerwen fought back to level at 3-3, after being 3-1 down. This time though, it was him that let Anderson in who ended up averaging 102 and hitting one out of two on the doubles to win 6-3 in an impressive display.
The small matter of 16 time world champion Taylor awaited in the final. Anderson came out the blocks firing and quickly led 2-0 and then 3-1. However, he lost a grip of the match and combined with some Taylor excellence, he found himself 4-3 down. Taylor allowed Anderson to draw level at 4-4 when he missed three darts for the set.
Then came a horrific run of luck for Anderson as he endured several bounce outs, the worst being when a third dart knocked the previous two out of the treble 20 and he ended up scoring zero. He was also put off by a fan whistling from the crowd which made it all the more remarkable when he won the set and the next to lead 6-4 and be on the brink of success.
Taylor wasn't done yet though and some blistering darts set up a nail biting 13th and final set. It was Anderson who found his form at the vital moments and with a double 8 sealed his place in darting history, finally.
Anderson's sheer determination and will to win have to be admired. He said last year when he let that lead slip against Van Gerwen, that the next year would be different and he has delivered big time on that statement.
Anderson has also had personal tragedies to deal with over the last few years. His brother Stewart died of a heart attack aged just 35 in September 2011 and his father Gordon died in March 2012. Naturally Anderson found darts tough after those losses, but now he is reaping the huge benefits of relaxing on stage and enjoying his job.
I had the pleasure of meeting Anderson once. I played a leg of darts against him (he took out 135 on the bull to beat me) but he said well played and did the same with everyone who took him on in Coral that day in 2013. He was happy to chat away with fans and sign autographs.
Gary Anderson is one of the good guys who has had to wait for his success, but he knew he'd have his chance some day and he wasn't going to let it slip.
I'll be a rare Scot in the crowd at Leeds in February on the opening night of the Premier League cheering him on as world champion, but the atmosphere inside Glasgow's Hydro Arena a month later will be electric to welcome back 'The Flying Scotsman'.
Gary Anderson truly deserves his spot in Scottish sporting folklore alongside his darting hero Jocky Wilson.
The 44 year old from Eyemouth in the Scottish Borders was crowned Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) world champion after a thrilling 7-6 victory over the greatest ever darts player, Phil "The Power" Taylor at the Alexandra Palace in London on Sunday night.
The chance to lift the world championship trophy had been a long time coming for Anderson. Although he had only previously only reached one world final in 2011 when he lost to Adrian Lewis, the Scot was regularly heralded as the best player to never win a world title.
That was because of his terrific form over a number of years, including a win in the final of the 2011 Premier League as well as wins in the World Darts Trophy and the International Darts League in 2007. He also came into this year's World Championships in terrific form having won the Players Championship just before hand as well as notching up semi final appearances at the World Grand Prix and World Matchplay.
Anderson didn't have it plain sailing in London though, far from it. American Scott Kirchner with his ludicrously slow style of play unnerved Anderson in round one, making him average only 86 in a nervous match.
Round Two saw Anderson on the brink of defeat at one point against Dutchman Jelle Klaasen. He was 3-1 down in a race to four and was a leg away from an early exit before roaring back to win 4-3.
Further battles had to be overcome against Spaniard qualifier Cristo Reyes in the third round where he was a set down early on. Anderson's best performance so far came in the quarter final against Peter Wright which set up a semi final against reigning world champion Michael Van Gerwen, whom Anderson lost to into the third round of the 2014 event, despite leading 3-1.
It looked as though history was going to repeat itself, as Van Gerwen fought back to level at 3-3, after being 3-1 down. This time though, it was him that let Anderson in who ended up averaging 102 and hitting one out of two on the doubles to win 6-3 in an impressive display.
The small matter of 16 time world champion Taylor awaited in the final. Anderson came out the blocks firing and quickly led 2-0 and then 3-1. However, he lost a grip of the match and combined with some Taylor excellence, he found himself 4-3 down. Taylor allowed Anderson to draw level at 4-4 when he missed three darts for the set.
Then came a horrific run of luck for Anderson as he endured several bounce outs, the worst being when a third dart knocked the previous two out of the treble 20 and he ended up scoring zero. He was also put off by a fan whistling from the crowd which made it all the more remarkable when he won the set and the next to lead 6-4 and be on the brink of success.
Taylor wasn't done yet though and some blistering darts set up a nail biting 13th and final set. It was Anderson who found his form at the vital moments and with a double 8 sealed his place in darting history, finally.
Anderson's sheer determination and will to win have to be admired. He said last year when he let that lead slip against Van Gerwen, that the next year would be different and he has delivered big time on that statement.
Anderson has also had personal tragedies to deal with over the last few years. His brother Stewart died of a heart attack aged just 35 in September 2011 and his father Gordon died in March 2012. Naturally Anderson found darts tough after those losses, but now he is reaping the huge benefits of relaxing on stage and enjoying his job.
I had the pleasure of meeting Anderson once. I played a leg of darts against him (he took out 135 on the bull to beat me) but he said well played and did the same with everyone who took him on in Coral that day in 2013. He was happy to chat away with fans and sign autographs.
Gary Anderson is one of the good guys who has had to wait for his success, but he knew he'd have his chance some day and he wasn't going to let it slip.
I'll be a rare Scot in the crowd at Leeds in February on the opening night of the Premier League cheering him on as world champion, but the atmosphere inside Glasgow's Hydro Arena a month later will be electric to welcome back 'The Flying Scotsman'.
Gary Anderson truly deserves his spot in Scottish sporting folklore alongside his darting hero Jocky Wilson.
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