The preparations for the first Grand Slam of the year is under way, and top guns were in action yesterday and today in Australia and Qatar. Djokovic started his year with a surprise defeat to Ernst Gulbis in straight sets (6-4, 6-4). Roddick win easily against Navarro. Blake was upset by Hrbaty in a third-set tie-breaker. And Baghdatis lost in his 2009 debut.

Djokovic’s loss is very surprising, especially after he claimed to be ready to defend his Australian Open title. Things are not going too well for the poor guy, and he is currently the fourth favorite to win the Australian Open behind Nadal, Federer, and Murray.

More guys will be in action today, including Federer and Nadal, so stay tuned.

The new ATP season is finally upon us, and it all started with a bang. Andy Murray crushed James Blake 6-2, 6-2 to set up yet another match against Roger Federer. Andy Roddick also lost (to Davydenko), which means Nadal will get a chance to exact some revenge on the Russian.

I have Nadal vs. Murray for the final. What’s your pick?

Federer is one of the best players of all time. He is up there with Sampras, Laver, Bjorg, and others. But, his time at the top has passed. There are too many young players that have caught up with him. Nadal will probably lose his No. 1 position sometime next year but it won’t be to Federer. If you think about it, Djokovic had such a terrible second half of the year that it’s surprising that he is oh so close to getting the No. 2 position off of Fed. Had Novak won the U.S. Open and played a bit better at Wimbledon, he would’ve put up a good challenge against Nadal. 

Murray is the hottest player on the tour and even though he lost to Davydenko at Masters Cup, he was the star of the tournament by knocking out Federer and beating Roddick and Simon in the process. He will be a major factor next year. 

Let’s not forget about Del Potro, Monfils, Simon, Gasquet, Berdych, Cilic, Gulbis, and even Nishikori. There are too many hungry young guns out there, and I believe it’d be hard for Federer to continue his amazing record next year. Will Federer be a major factor in the next few years? Absolutely. Will he regain his No. 1 spot? I doubt it (and if it happens, it would be for a brief time). That doesn’t mean he will be regarded any less for his amazing career. 

You decide: Will Federer regain the No. 1 position next year?

Roddick has finally found a coach for his 2009 season. Larry Stefanki was with Fernando Gonzalez for the past 3 years but I suppose even he had to give up after Gonzo started going south. Now, he will get a chance to work with Roddick and help him win another slam.

Will Roddick win another slam? Will he live up to the lofty expectations folks had for him a few years ago? You decide!

Novak has struggled mightily in this tournament, and he almost lost it to Simon today. But he hung on to reach the final, having already lost a match to Tsonga. Davydenko, bounced back from his defeat by Djokovic to dominate Del Potro and Murray (Andy was the hottest player in the tournament but was simply outgunned by an in-form Kolya).

Verdict: Djokovic looked tired today, and Davydenko looked very confident. It should be Novak’s moment but it won’t be. Davydenko wins in 3 set. Probably 7-6 in the third.

Davydenko also took advantage of his first opportunity to beat Tsona 7-6 in the third and move to the top of the group. This group seems to be the easiest, as Djokovic is the only slam winner here.

Federer, Roddick, Murray, and Simon are pitted against each other in the other group, and every match will be important as two of the four try to qualify for the next rounds. I still believe Murray is the firm favorite here, but Federer and Djokovic are not that behind.

Tsonga is for real folks. If there were any doubts about the future of this man, he proved tonight that he has all the tools to become a great player in the years ahead. Tsonga outslugged the indoor master Nalbandian and dethroned him 6-3, 4-6, 6-4 to win his 2nd career title and his first Masters Series shield.

For long, Richard Gasquet was considered to be the best French hope but Tsonga has now proved that he and not Gasquet is someone to look out for in the coming slams. I still think that he needs to work on a few areas to get himself in the contention in Grand Slam, but he was oh so close at Australian Open this year.

Tsonga may or may not win a slam. Nobody can predict that with guys such as Del Potro, Cilic, and Murray without one as well, but he is the best chance the French have at a major title.

Federer was scheduled to face Blake today with the winner facing the winner of Tsonga-Roddick match. But Federer has pulled a muscle in his back and is out of the tournament. Blake needs to reach the final to get to the Masters Cup. He may have to go through his friend to do that.

Roddick now has to rely on his result in Paris Masters to make it to Shanghai. But at least he is in a better position than Blake or Gilles Simon. Let’s see if these guys can catch up. I am personally hoping for Gilles Simon to make it so we can see another Simon Nadal match there, but we shall see.

Murray is currently No. 4 in the world and is getting close to Novak by the minute. But if you take out the losses to Nadal and Federer, Murray has actually outperformed Novak in the second half of this year. With Djokovic going out to Karlovic last week, Murray had further chances to cement his position as the real No. 3 in the world. So here is the question for the rest of this year. Can Novak catch Federer at No. 2 or will he fail again like he did against Nadal and let Murray take over No. 3? The next Masters Series will reveal a lot about this question.