Two years ago, a flashy 21-year-old announced his intentions on Pat Rafter Arena, reaching his first tour final before falling to Andy Murray in the decider.
Grigor Dimitrov was the young Bulgarian and today he launches his 2015 Brisbane International campaign as the No.4 seed against the world No.31 Frenchman Jeremy Chardy.
Having started last season ranked No.23, Dimitrov rose to as high as eighth during the year before finishing at No.11. He reached his first Grand Slam semifinal at Wimbledon where he sent defending men’s champion Murray on his way in the quarterfinals.
“As one of the younger guys, I know we strive for this, we’re hungry for it. We want to prove ourselves, to show to the big guys that we’re just around the corner,” he said after beating Murray.
Gifted with no shortage of natural ability – often drawing parallels to Federer’s – under the guidance of Australian coach Roger Rasheed, he has made huge inroads on the physical aspect of his game.
Chardy started last season by reaching the semifinals in Brisbane, losing to Federer before avenging the defeat in Rome four months later. Dimitrov and Chardy have split their two meetings, but the Bulgarian’s game has developed immensely since their last match three years ago.
Long mentioned in the same breath as Dimitrov as a grand slam champion in waiting, No.2 seed Kei Nishikori opens his season against American Steve Johnson on Pat Rafter Arena today.
Johnson shifted more than 100 spots to No.37, but in Nishikori, he is facing the world No.5; the first Asian man to reach a grand slam final at last year’s US Open, a player who finished his year with a semifinal appearance at the season-ending ATP World Tour Finals. Nishikori is better on foot and more explosive off the ground. He should have few troubles with the American.
Looking to continue her fearless upset of former world No.1 Victoria Azarenka from the first round, free-swinging Czech Karolina Pliskova will have the challenge of backing up the win against a player she should be expected to defeat.
Lucky loser Alla Kudryavtseva made the most of her late call-up to the main draw to reach the second round, but the Russian lost twice to 23rd-ranked Pliskova in 2014. Much depends on how Pliskova has recovered from her three-hour-plus epic on Monday night when the pair opens proceedings on Pat Rafter Arena today.
Following 33-year-old Lleyton Hewitt’s departure last night, tonight’s first match on Pat Rafter Arena is a litmus test for Australia’s changing of the guard.
For years, Bernard Tomic has carried the burden of being the nation’s next great hope and after a slide down the rankings and two hip surgeries last year, he looks fitter than before ahead of his showdown with 18-year-old wildcard Thanasi Kokkinakis.
Tomic, who landed himself back on the winners’ list last year with a title in Bogota, has reeled his ranking back to the verge of the top 50 again, while Kokkinakis – who started last season ranked No.570 – has surged into the top 150. Both posted impressive first-round victories over higher-ranked opponents but Kokkinakis’s over Benneteau was more telling. Both with big-stage attitude to burn, it was Kokkinakis who joked he always beats his 22-year-old countryman in console gaming. Don’t be surprised if he does the same on court tonight.
Serbia’s No.2 seed Ana Ivanovic makes a return to Brisbane after a three-year hiatus and will have her work cut out against Australian Jarmila Gajdosova in the second match of the night session. Both players love to flatten out their heavy shots off both wings and much will depend on who controls their aggression best.
Ivanovic collected a career-best four titles for the year last season and registered seven top-10 wins from August on her way to returning to No.5 in the world, while former world No.25 Gajdosova is on the comeback from a bout of glandular fever. She has salvaged her ranking from No.334 back to No.70 and earned a WTA Tour Comeback Player of the Year nomination in the process.