FEDERER, NADAL HEADLINE FIRST DAY OF AUSTRALIAN OPEN WHICH YOU CAN WATCH IN A FEW MINUTES. BY RICKY DIMON

Written by: Staff on 18th January 2015

FEDERER, NADAL HEADLINE FIRST DAY OF AUSTRALIAN OPEN WHICH YOU CAN WATCH IN A FEW MINUTES. BY RICKY DIMON

epa04564088 Rafael Nadal of Spain during a practice session prior to the Australian Open Grand Slam tennis tournament in Melbourne, Australia, 17 January 2015. The Australian Open tennis tournament will go from 19 January until 01 February 2015. EPA/BARBARA WALTON |

By Ricky Dimon

The Australian Open will begin with a bang on Monday in Melbourne. Both Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer are in action, with Nadal kicking things into gear during the day before Federer headlines the night session inside Rod Laver Arena. A local Aussie flavor will come in the form of rising stars Nick Kyrgios and Thanasi Kokkinakis.

A quick look at some of Monday’s men’s matches:

Mikhail Youzhny vs. Rafael Nadal

Nadal will be facing a familiar foe on the other side of the net on Monday afternoon. Youzhny has toppled Nadal on four previous occasions and was once considered a thorn in the side of the 14-time Grand Slam champion. They split their first six meetings at three wins apiece between 2004 and 2007 before Youzhny also picked up a win in the 2008 Chennai final. That 6-0, 6-1 result, however, can be attributed entirely to the fact that Nadal had battled Carlos Moya for three hours and 54 minutes one day earlier.

Fast forward to 2015 and this is not the same Youzhny. The former world No. 8 compiled an 18-23 record last season that has him ranked 49th. He lost his Doha opener two weeks ago in easy straight sets to Nikoloz Basilashvili. Nadal did the same in Doha, where he was stunned by Michael Berrer 1-6, 6-3, 6-4. Thus questions remain in the wake of disappointing second half of 2014 that was plagued by a wrist injury and appendicitis. The good news for the 2009 winner in Melbourne is that Youzhny has a lost both a step in foot speed and sizzle on his groundstrokes.

Yen-Hsun Lu vs. (2) Roger Federer

Roger Federer of Switzerland in action during practice prior the Australian Open Grand Slam tennis tournament in Melbourne, Australia, 18 January 2015. The Australian Open tennis tournament will go from 19 January until 01 February 2015. EPA/Narendra Shrestha

Federer and Lu will be squaring off for the third time in their. They were supposed to meet a third time last summer in Halle, but Lu handed Federer a walkover. The 33-year-old Swiss has won both of their previous encounters without dropping a set. He prevailed 7-5, 6-3, 6-2 in the 2009 Wimbledon first round and 6-3, 7-5 at the 2012 Shanghai Masters.

Like Youzhny, Lu is not exactly the easiest of first-round opponents. Chinese Taipei’s top player registers at 47th in the world and he has already won three matches this year–two in Chennai and one in Auckland. Maintaining momentum from an outstanding fall, Federer’s preparation for the Happy Slam was just about ideal. The four-time Australian Open champion captured the Brisbane title with respective semi and final wins over Grigor Dimitrov and Milos Raonic before taking this past week off.

Federico Delbonis vs. Nick Kyrgios

Kyrgios really started to make a name for himself last year Down Under, advancing one round then losing a five-set thriller to Benoit Paire. His budding career reached new heights, of course, with an upset of Nadal en route to the Wimbledon quarterfinals. Kyrgios is carrying a back injury into this year’s Australian Open, but will adrenaline from a raucous crowd be enough to get him through any physical issues? If so, Delbonis could be in trouble because the Argentine would much rather contest this matchup on clay.

Australian tennis player Nick Kyrgios in action during a training session ahead of the Australian Open tennis tournament at Melbourne Park in Melbourne, Australia, 18 January 2015. The Australian Open tennis tournament will go from 19 January until 01 February 2015. EPA/JULIAN SMITH EPA/JULIAN SMITH AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND OUT

(WC) Thanasi Kokkinakis vs. (11) Ernests Gulbis

The night atmosphere on Day 1 should be buzzing. There’s a chance Federer, Kyrgios, and Kokkinakis will all be on court at the same time. Speaking of chances, Kokkinakis may have a great one to pull off the biggest win of his career. The Aussie is obviously a big underdog against Gulbis, but the Latvian is especially vulnerable right now. He has been a disaster ever since reaching the French Open quarterfinals last spring, and a pro-Australian crowd will do nothing to ease Gulbis’ sometimes-fragile mind.

Thanasis Kokkinakis of Australia during training at Melbourne Park on the eve of the start of the Australian Open Grand Slam tennis tournament, in Melbourne, Australia, 18 January 2015. The Australian Open tennis tournament runs from 19 January until 01 February 2015. EPA/BARBARA WALTON

Ricky contributes to 10sballs.com and also maintains his own tennis website, The Grandstand.

Topics: AO2015, Atp, AusOpen, Australian Open, Australian Open 2015, Ernests Gulbis, Federer, Federico Delbonis, Melbourne, Mikhail Youzhny, Nick Kyrgios, Rafa, Ricky Dimon, Tennis, Thanasi Kokkinakis, Yen Hsun Lu

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10sBalls_com says:

January 18, 2015 at 3:03 pm

-@rogerfederer, @RafaelNadal HEADLINE FIRST DAY OF @AustralianOpen… BY @Dimonator- http://t.co/kdpdI17lg8 #AusOpen #AO15 #tennis #Federer
dusanVemic says:

January 18, 2015 at 3:50 pm

RT @10sBalls_com: -@rogerfederer, @RafaelNadal HEADLINE FIRST DAY OF @AustralianOpen… BY @Dimonator- http://t.co/kdpdI17lg8 #AusOpen #AO1…
bice_popare says:

January 18, 2015 at 3:50 pm

RT @10sBalls_com: -@rogerfederer, @RafaelNadal HEADLINE FIRST DAY OF @AustralianOpen… BY @Dimonator- http://t.co/kdpdI17lg8 #AusOpen #AO1…