I haven't written a Grand Slam preview for a while and I have a bit of time on my hands at the moment, so why not spend some time previewing the action from Melbourne Park. Southern Australia has had a very wet spring and summer, so expect a bit of rain in amongst a few days of hot weather. But there are multiple courts with a roof these days, that won't hold them back too much. On with the preview! Running down the draw, listing seeds and notable floaters: 1. Iga Swiatek , R1 v Niemeier - clear no.1 in the women's game with a 67-9 record last season, bagging two majors (French and US) plus five premier level (WTA 1000) events. Was only #9 in the world this time last year, reaching the semis, then went on a ridiculous 37-match run, winning Doha, Indian Wells, Miami, Stuttgart, Rome and the French Open consecutively, securing the no.1 spot before finally dropping a match at Wimbledon. Leading in, she has won three decent matches in the United Cup (Putintseva, Bencic an
A competitive edition of the Melbourne Cup without being a great one. The La Nina weather cycle has made a mess of sporting events down the east coast in recent weeks and Flemington has not escaped that. It did race very well on Saturday considering the conditions, so fingers crossed that continues. At this stage it seems like the track will be Soft 7/Heavy 8 - rain is forecast, hopefully not enough for the track to deteriorate but also not warm or windy enough for proper drying weather as you'd normally see on the sand profile track. There are only two international visitors in the field, Deauville Legend and Without A Fight, while another pair, Camorra and Hoo Ya Mal, will make their local debuts having been purchased for Australian syndicates. So the local moaners get their 'mostly locals' race. I think I'd prefer higher class myself but hey... Slightly different format this year, enjoy reading, bet responsibly, yada yada yada... ------------------------------------