Veteran Roger Federer heads into the opening Grand Slam of 2015 next week as the form player, but there is a heady mix of youth and experience snapping at his heels.
Evergreen Swiss great Federer, 33, brought up a jaw-dropping 1,000th victory on Sunday to win the Brisbane International, laying down the Australian Open gauntlet to arch-rivals Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal.
“Yeah, I do believe that,” Federer said when asked if he could claim a fifth Australian Open and his 18th Grand Slam.
In contrast to his flying start to 2015, world number one Djokovic’s preparations were cut short by giant Croatian Ivo Karlovic in the Qatar Open quarter-finals. It was even worse for Nadal, who suffered a shock defeat in his first match of the season in Doha to German qualifier Michael Berrer.
Swiss Stan Wawrinka is the defending men’s champion after his breakthrough four-set win over Nadal last year and spearheads a host of challengers, including Britain’s Andy Murray, Raonic and Japan’s Kei Nishikori.
