Australian Open preview

Like the U.S. Open, the event in Melbourne is full of drama under the lights - let's make that late, late night for those of us in the U.S. - and is bolstered by a new season with new faces. Often overlooked among the Slams, the Australian does have a few things going for it...

- Without much tournament play coming in, a more level playing field is created. Five-setters and upsets abound.

- The Aussie Open always brings with it new faces, some that fade away and others that turn into big-time stars.

- Melbourne is always looking good this time of year - maybe it has something do with how it looks outside the window here.

Five Questions

The Men's Draw

Will Roger Federer grab his 14th Grand Slam title and tie Pete Sampras' all-time record?

Will the red-hot Andy Murray crash the party on the Grand Slam stage?

Who will be this year's Marcos Baghdatis, Fernando Gonzalez or Jo-Wilfried Tsonga?

Can Americans James Blake and Andy Roddick avoid career free-falls?

How annoying can Leyton Hewitt's "lawnmower" possibly get?

The Women's Draw

Will the Williams' sisters finally regain their dominance on the women's game?

Will Ana Ivanovic rebound from her slump?

Will Jelena Jankovic justify her No. 1 ranking?

Which Eastern European will make the next breakthrough?

Which naïve player will Chris Fowler get to try the vegemite? Ana Myskina never recovered.

My projections for the quarterfinals and beyond -

Men's Quarterfinals

#1 Rafael Nadal (Nice Fernando Gonzalez vs. Leyton Hewitt matchup in Round 1) vs. # 12 Gael Monfils

#4 Andy Murray vs. #5 Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (Can't say I'm too confident with Tsonga but it's hard to project #9 James Blake making it through on recent form, oddsmakers like Ernests Gulbis)

#7 Andy Roddick (Keep on eye on Sam Querrey) vs. #3 Novak Djokovic (Marcos Baghdatis and the man who just beat Djokovic- Jarko Nieminen - loom)

#8 Juan Martin Del Potro vs. #2 Roger Federer

Women's Quarterfinals

#1 Jelena Jankovic vs. #10 Nadia Petrova (Slight snub on #7 Vera Zvonareva)

#3 Dinara Safina (#15 Alize Corent could pose a threat) vs. #5 Ana Ivanovic

#6 Venus Williams vs. #4 Elena Dementieva

#9 Agnieszka Radwanska (#8 Svetlana Kuznetsova always in fold) vs. #2 Serena Williams

Men's Semifinals

Nadal vs. Murray

Djokovic vs. Federer

I hate to pick all the favorites but these are clearly the top 4 men in the world.

Women's Semifinals

Jankovic vs. Ivanovic

Dementieva vs. S. Williams (Dementieva might have enough to get past one Williams)

Men's Final

Federer over Murray

Roger ties Sampras, quiets critics and those looking to anoint Murray.

Women's Final

S. Williams over Ivanovic

I like Ivanovic to bounce back, but she'll be playing Aussie Open bridesmaid for the second-year in a row. Serena beginning to exert dominance.

Enjoy the tournament.