AO 2018 is gonna be goooooood

[Rafa the King]

I think the big 5 will all be up to it, if Zverev and Kyrgios could put together a decent run and one or two players from generation useless show up and big guys like Cilic, Delpo and Anderson hit their stride, it could be amazing.

Rafa, Fed, Thiem and Zverev will be the top 4 seeds probably
Stan will get a top 8 seeding I expect
Djokovic will be 12th or 13th, difference between possible 4th meeting against Fedal or QF
Murray will be inside the top 20 but not seeded lower than 17th so that means possible Fedalovic vs Murray R4 and even a Murrovic R3 on the cards
And guys like Nishikori and Raonic won't even be top 20

 

[Poisoned Slice]

Can't wait. Tennis is pretty dead for me after the US Open.

 

[Standaa]

Zverev and Kyrgios and soo overrated in slams

 

[Tommy Haas]

AO 2018 will be when Tomic gets his sh*t together and really play as a professional again. He still won't win, but it'll be a good start for him. I'd like to see Nadal take the title for a double CGS. Who else has double career grand slams?

Depending on how long Djoko or Murray are out for, they might be non-factors at AO. If Fed's back is still a problem I can see him skipping everything and just focusing on Wimbledon, but right now he's eager to play and in Shanghai already practicing for the Asian tour.

 

[reaper]

Should be some very interesting RO 16 match ups. Seeding won't give much protection.

 

[helterskelter]

I think AO 2018 will be another poor Slam. Not quite so poor as the last two or three, sure. But it will still be the case that Djokovic, Murray, Wawrinka, and perhaps also Federer, Nishikori, and Raonic are struggling for fitness and severely lacking in match form. I expect the field to improve over the year, but the start to be slow.

 

[Backspin1183]

Or it could be a dud with the final between Busta and Mischa Zverev

 

[Djokovic2011]

Or it could be a dud with the final between Busta and Mischa Zverev

Couldn't be much worse than the last three.

 

[Charlie]

It definitely is. And if this guy does the best he can, it's going to be amazing.

 

[Tommy Haas]

If I were in Nadal's shoes I'd be focusing on two things. Catching Fed's slam count and distancing himself from Djoko. Forget about weeks at #1 and non slam titles because Fed's too far ahead.

 

[kishnabe]

Hopefully 2018 AO is just as fast as 2017 AO. Not slow Blue Clay.

2017 AO had plenty of epics because of it.

 

[ADuck]

I think AO 2018 will be another poor Slam. Not quite so poor as the last two or three, sure. But it will still be the case that Djokovic, Murray, Wawrinka, and perhaps also Federer, Nishikori, and Raonic are struggling for fitness and severely lacking in match form. I expect the field to improve over the year, but the start to be slow.

Remember, there's 4 and a half months between now and the AO. That's ample time for players to change form

 

[vex]

I think the big 5 will all be up to it, if Zverev and Kyrgios could put together a decent run and one or two players from generation useless show up and big guys like Cilic, Delpo and Anderson hit their stride, it could be amazing.

Rafa, Fed, Thiem and Zverev will be the top 4 seeds probably
Stan will get a top 8 seeding I expect
Djokovic will be 12th or 13th, difference between possible 4th meeting against Fedal or QF
Murray will be inside the top 20 but not seeded lower than 17th so that means possible Fedalovic vs Murray R4 and even a Murrovic R3 on the cards
And guys like Nishikori and Raonic won't even be top 20

I actually completely agree. Should be exciting.

 

[papertank]

It will be interesting to see the roles reversed where Nadal and Federer are the in-form favorites while Djokovic, Murray and Wawrinka lurk in the lower seeds. They will all be ranked between 8-12, so big matches could start as early as R16. Raonic and Nishikori will also be ranked in the 20s so that could provide for some great R3 matches as well.

 

[helterskelter]

Remember, there's 4 and a half months between now and the AO. That's ample time for players to change form

It is, but the season ends long before then, and those players who are out for the rest of it will come into the AO with barely any matches under their belt in a long time.

 

[Mr.Lob]

2018.... Sharapova's Revenge!

 

[MaluTapiMau]

It'll be interesting to see how they perform after coming back from such long breaks

 

[BeatlesFan]

If I were in Nadal's shoes I'd be focusing on two things. Catching Fed's slam count and distancing himself from Djoko. Forget about weeks at #1 and non slam titles because Fed's too far ahead.

He's been doing this since 2012. This is super old news.

 

[Elektra]

Aussie Open to me is nothing but a warm up tournament. Players peak too fast at the Aussie and it haunts them once Wimbledeon and US Open series rolls around. US Open is most important for sercuing your ranking, putting a stamp on your season and pays the most money.

There is a reason why most of the top champions in the past never traveled to Australia.

 

[VolleyHelena]

He's been doing this since 2012. This is super old news.

Do you think he'll catch up with Federer ?

Don't use the 31+ stat, because the last 4 slam winners have been 31+

 

[I Am Finnish]

look out for tomic

 

[Tommy Haas]

Do you think he'll catch up with Federer ?

Don't use the 31+ stat, because the last 4 slam winners have been 31+

If Fed doesn't win anymore slams and his bad back finishes his career, Nadal has a really good shot at catching him barring any career ending injuries. He has at least 2 more FO left and possibly another non-clay slam. If he doesn't do well in those then I think he'll focus purely on clay and keep playing FO until he can't anymore and attempt to pass Fed that way.

Some will have problem with his stacked FO count, but a slam is a slam. It's like a baseball player who hits the majority of his home runs at home and few in other ballparks, but a homer is a homer.

 

[VolleyHelena]

If Fed doesn't win anymore slams and his bad back finishes his career, Nadal has a really good shot at catching him barring any career ending injuries. He has at least 2 more FO left and possibly another non-clay slam. If he doesn't do well in those then I think he'll focus purely on clay and keep playing FO until he can't anymore and attempt to pass Fed that way.

Some will have problem with his stacked FO count, but a slam is a slam. It's like a baseball player who hits the majority of his home runs at home and few in other ballparks, but a homer is a homer.

Thanks for the analysis