Other than the occasional Roger Federer moment, there isn't nearly as much drama on the men's tennis tour as there is with the women.

But as the 2010 ATP Tour season begins - mere hours after the 2009 season ended, it seems - there is more intrigue than you'd expect.

For so many years, it was Roger and Rafa, Rafa and Roger.

But when the Australian Open gets under way next Monday in Melbourne, perennial heir-apparent Novak Djokovic has a real chance to take over the No. 1 spot he has long coveted.

It seemed, if anything, that Djokovic was backpedalling from the game's summit after a financially lucrative, but technically off-putting racquet change a year ago left his confidence in tatters.

But if the 22-year-old Serb wins the first Grand Slam of the season and Federer loses before the semifinals, Djo-kovic will be the new top dog.

He won it two years ago, annihilating Federer in the semifinals; he knows how.

Federer's results during his first two events have made that scenario enticingly more possible. The world's No. 1 was shocked by Swede Robin Soderling at a money-grab exhibition in Abu Dhabi to start the year. He then was blindsided by surprising Russian Nikolay Davydenko last week at his first ATP Tour stop of the year in Qatar.

Both times, Nadal was waiting for him in the final. He couldn't get there.

Federer withdrew from an exhibition this week in Melbourne, one he has played many times. Only he knows if he has been guilty of looking beyond the other contenders. But Federer clearly already needed to take stock.

You definitely get a sense the players are gearing up to make some moves this year. And the long-standing Davis Cup competition is paying the price.

Federer won't play the first round in March against Spain. American Andy Roddick, nursing a knee, says he not only won't play against Djokovic and Serbia on the road in March, he won't play the entire Davis Cup season. Neither will countryman James Blake.

Andy Murray is a question mark for Britain, and it wouldn't surprise anyone if Nadal took a pass in March. He's already skipping the Dubai tournament, and his country doesn't need him to beat a Roger-less Switzerland.

All in all, this is the hardest season to predict in a long, long time.

Several have the talent to win the Australian Open. Not as many as on the women's side (How long has it been since we said that?), but several. Many have tried the last two years, few have succeeded.

Questions about Nadal's knees will persist, although he has looked fine so far. But the fact is that he hasn't won a tournament in more than eight months.

Andy Murray has been the "next Slam champion" for a while now. But when the chips are down, Murray has so far found a way to fall short.

At last summer's U.S. Open, Juan Martin del Potro of Argentina leapfrogged over his slightly older rivals to win his first major title.

It's been a whirlwind for the low-key 21-year-old since then; 2010 will be a challenge. More people, more attention, more demands. He'll also need to adjust to carrying the extra weight of the new champion's target on his back.

The dark horse in all this is Davydenko.

He came on last November to beat both Federer and Nadal and win the World Tour finals in London.

In winning in Doha last week, he again beat both of them.

Davydenko is a throwback in a tennis world increasingly populated with giants. He's David to their Goliaths, relying on quickness, consistency, an improved serve, and a recent willingness to come to the net to finish points off despite an awkward two-handed volley and hands of stone.

He's not well-known, his personality is difficult to get past, and his English is a little fuzzy. There's also the baseless innuendo about match-fixing that has followed him the last two years.

At 5-foot-10 and a wiry 150 pounds, Davydenko has always said that while he can be a world-beater on any given day, he doesn't have the physicality to last until the second Sunday in a Grand Slam, where the matches are best-of-five sets, not best-of-three.

At some point, one of the "rest" will step up and shake up the top two for more than a few weeks.

But we've been saying that for a while. And we're still waiting.

Until then, it remains Roger and Rafa.

Vreal - not sure what your post above has to do with the article...... Hope that Nole can succeed here where no one else in the ATP/ITF has been able to make any headway. The season, as we all are aware, is WAY too long.

So, here we go again, new season is starting, how much I'm excited, I've been waiting for a long time my boy, nothing to comment, just to say: 'Ajde Nole' remind them how good tennis you're playing, all the best dearest....

Come on Novak, win Kooyong and then AO!!

"Vreal - not sure what your post above has to do with the article"

i guess it has do do more with this sentence "Until then, it remains Roger and Rafa."

Rafa fans are all over the place ...

djokovic steamrolls haas in just 57 minutes 6-2 6-3 ! remember he used to have prblems facing haas but he was so impressive this time.delp too was good in hisi 6-3 6-3 win over ljubicic .sooo much competition!

i posted this article because it had positive things to say about novak......article is titled "djokovic has a legitemate shot at being no. 1"

and im a rafa-nole fan.......i love them both!

HELLO GORDANA,how are you doing??? pleased with nole last year??

AO has been the stage for players to send a message to the tennis world of their presence.... Gonzalez,,, Baghdatis,,, Johanson,,, Verdasco,,, Tsonga.... made the most out of this platform and carried their "fame" 'till the end of the season.

I wonder who's the "lucky one" this time!

Well .. I think Nole was sleeping or Verdasco's annual visit to Vegas is doing its job.
Verdasco wins in kooyong 6-1, 6-2.

Djokovic looked tired on 21 C. I can imagine what happens if it is 36 C. Verdasco very solid.

djokovic lost to verdasco 6-1 6-2???? :(
thats very disturbing.. :(:(

Yes, mriiidula, very disturbing... :(( I hope this doesn't mean anything..although we say in Serbia: "The morning shows how the day will bë", I sincerely hope it is NOT applicable this time, and that Nole's game is going to be consistent in 2010!!! Trashing Haas and then get trashed by Verdasco...hm!! Ajde, Noleeee, show everybody what you got in 2010!!

Former Australian Open champion Novak Djokovic suffered a brusque reversal of form on Thursday to crash out of the Kooyong Classic 6-1, 6-2 at the hands of Spain's Fernando Verdasco.
But the Serb was far from concerned, happy that he got in a pair of solid matches at the eight-man special event in preparation for the first grand slam of 2010, beginning on Monday.
The victory sends on-form Verdasco into a Saturday final against the winner of a Friday contest between US Open winner Juan Martin Del Potro and 2008 Melbourne finalist Jo-Wilfried Tsonga of France.
In relegation matches, Chile's Fernando Gonzalez handed German Tommy Haas a second defeat in as many days, 6-2, 6-4.
Croatian Ivan Ljubicic benefitted when Sweden's Robin Soderling retired with a sore right shoulder after losing their opening set 6-4.
"The results didn't even matter," said world number three Djokovic, who defeated Haas emphatically on Wednesday's opening day.
"The main point is to get a good practice and get points and gains before the Australian Open, which is my main priority.
"I didn't feel good on the court, he played well but I made way too many unforced errors."
Djokovic's loss ended a run of five straight victories against 2009 Open semi-finalist Verdasco.
Verdasco admitted he was surprised by his easy victory, adding that the traditional swirling wind of the Kooyong club was a problem for both players.
"We all know that here every day is pretty windy. It is not easy for everybody, but I was feeling pretty good.
"I was trying to control the conditions and just give my 100 percent and be the best as possible for the Australian Open. That's the goal.
"You never go to the court, especially with a guy like Novak Djokovic and think you are going to win 6-1, 6-2."

i wouldnt worry too much nole fans.......he is going to do well

VAMOS NOLE!!
AJDE RAFAEL!!!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MlNk4qbNKKk

nole classic........LOVE HIS TENNIS.....LOVE HIS PERSONALITY

he imitates rafa pretty well!!!!!!

Djoker seems to have taken a hiding from Verdasco in Kooyong - 6-2, 6-1! What happened?

alex -

By all accounts, Verdasco was on fire. he must have spent the off-season with Gil Reyes again.

Also, Nole apparently wasn't really taking the match seriously. DF'd quite a bit.

Thanks for that, cheryl. When verdasco is striking accurately he's a fearsome opponent for anyone. And I can imagine the scenarion re Nole:) I still rate him highly for the AO.

draw is out.

murray as always has the easiest one........in nadal's quarter though

djokovic is in same half as fed and has soderling in his quarter. guess djoker shud be ok with it. fed has davy in his quarter so that shud be interesting.

delpo and a-rod shud be fine to meet in their quarters though this is the toughest quarter of all........

reasonable draw i wud say.......and if it is most easy for someone it has to be murray lucky again or inside dealing....will c..........

djoker loses again, this time to the young oz upstart:) What's going on with djoker? I know it's only practice but he seems to be just playing arouind?? Don't know, didn't see the match, but this is hardly cofidence building stuff for him ...

sathasht -
muzz the easiest draw? lol!!! If everone else plays according to seeding, he'll have to beat 3 of the top 4 seeds to win the thing - djoker and fed would 'only' have to do it twice. Djoker has the easiest route to the SFs (- his only serious threat, sod, has been looking vulnerable), followed by fed. Muzz might have it easier in the very earliest stages, but you and I know that reaching the QFs is not what it's all about for these guys.

All that said, look out for verdasco again this year - having obliterated a non-committed djoker in kooyong, he's just brushed tsonga aside 7-5, 6-3. He'll have his hands full with davydenko at R16 though, and whoever survives that dogfight will be there to be picked off by fed in the very next match - how convenient for roger!

"Djokovic ready to work ..." this is highly misleading ... did you see his performance last night? Hope he's saving himself.

Alex - You know what if you're not on top4, expect to play three tough matches to win the tournament. Don't tell me that you are expecting djoker to play nadal/delpo/fed in line to win the open.

If your explanation of tough draw is to be accepted then anyone ranked below 4 will always have tough draw. In my view that is ridiculous. It is media that is putting murray in spotlight and not tennis fans. Majority of tennis fans don't think he is champion material (not even near) and hence stop comparing murray to any of top4.

The draw is analysed for tough matches early in the open a everyone knows that later stages ought to be tough and thats why it is called GSLAM. In the early stages, no one has to confirm you how easy it is for murray compared to anyone in top 8.

So if ur murray fan, be happy till quarters and see how rafa (90%) or isner (10%) will marauld him in QFs.

Just small note sathisht ... although Andy is seeded 5 at AO is is actually back to #4 in the world.

I know that smr.......but wait for a while and he will drop further given the pts he needs to defend till march and current talents in tennis......if not davy/sod, i wud expect verdaco/rodd to be at 5 and 6 soon and top 4 will be by fed/nole/nadal/delpo (in any order).......

You think that SODERLING is a better player than Murray? Now u r writing fiction.

sathisht -

Methinks you protest too much! Bottom line is this - no one without some kind of an axe to grind could come up with the idea that muzz has the easiest draw. Djoker has the lest difficult (none is easy), closely followed by fed. It's all relative, however, as there are dangerous players scattered throughout the draw. The big advantage for fed is that the two biggest dangers in his quarter - davydenko and verdasco - will have to batter each other about before fed gets to play the winner.