Boris Becker: Good to be back on Tour again

Another Grand Slam calendar begins on Monday and Melbourne is once again decked out for the occasion.

It’s a special year for me personally because as coach, I once again feel the rough and tumble of the tennis Tour. Novak Djokovic is the defending champion and it’s a privilege to be part of his team and I hope our collaboration will bear fruit in his on-court performance.

There is a lot that has been written about what a fun-loving and chilled player Djokovic is, but few know what an incredible work ethic he has. He is extremely disciplined about his fitness and practises tirelessly.

I have enjoyed our interactions tremendously and enjoy his ability to take on board my frank observations about how he can improve.

Looking at the rest of the tournament, it’s still the big four. I say four because Roger Federer has had a fairly decent run-up to the tournament.

However, once would have to say that the top three are well, the top three seeds. Andy Murray was a little jaded towards the end of the last season, but he would be looking forward to making a strong start to the year. This is his strongest surface and he has enjoyed playing here, been a finalist and I expect him to be a big contender this year.

Nadal, who was unstoppable towards the end of last year, comes into the tournament as the form player. This was particularly creditable considering the terrible injury problems he faced. An all-time champion with good reason, he is definitely the biggest challenge Novak will face in the tournament, on current form.

The draw has been particularly tricky this time with Murray, Nadal and Federer all on the same side of the draw. Nadal in fact has a particularly tricky opening match against local boy Tomic.

I expect that to be an interesting game, since the Melbourne crowds can get noisy when an Australian is playing. I expect the top four to make it to the quarter-finals though without any great incident.

Looking at the women’s draw, it’s an interesting tournament in prospect. I think the distance between Serena Williams and the rest of the draw is less now than it was in the middle of last year. Victoria Azarenka is the defending champion and looks in good touch. Here too the top three seeds, these two girls along with Maria Sharapova, will dominate.