Health of stars dominates talk on the cusp of year’s first major

Nadal, Djokovic among walking wounded while new mom Serena Williams is absent

Associated Press

MELBOURNE, Australia — With Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic among the walking wounded and Serena Williams already deciding not to defend her title, injuries and absentees have been the focus of attention ahead ofthe Australian Open.

That’s not bothering Roger Federer, who is returning as defendingchampion just 12 months after entering the season-opening Grand Slam tournament seeded 17th and uncertain of his prospects after six months off the tour withan injured left knee.

He beat Nadal in a five-set final for his 18th Grand Slam title — and his first since 2012 — and laterwon Wimbledon.

“I just thought that the game and the wins weren’t going to come ... because I would just run into a red-hot Djokovic or Murray or Nadal or somebody and my game wasn’t going to be good enough,” Federer recalled. “I had all these great five-setters and, at the end, the epic match against Rafa.”

Second-seededFederer and No. 14-seeded Djokovic have almost traded places.

This time, Federer breezily walked into the Australian Open draw carrying the trophy just a few days after helping Switzerland win the Hopman Cup.. His 2017 comeback could be inspiration for the likes of Djokovic, who has won the Australiana record six times but has been sidelined since Wimbledonwith a right elbow injury.

Nadal, meanwhile, skipped the year-end championship int November and delayed the start of his 2018 season, so he’s also had only exhibition matches to see howhis right knee has recovered.

“If I’m not feeling good, probably I will not be here,” Nadal said after his error-filled loss to Richard Gasquet in an exhibition this week.“So that’s the good news.”

Five-time finalist Andy Murray withdrew more than a week ahead of time, deciding to have surgery on a right hip problem that had kept him off the tour since Wimbledon. Kei Nishikori alsowithdrew.

And so if the 2017 Australian Open was one for the ages — the revival of the Federer-Nadal rivalryand another Williams sisters final — the 2018 edition is shaping upas a survival of the fittest.

Serena Williams, who was pregnant when she beat Venus here last year to claim her 23rd major title, gave birth to her first child — Alexis Olympia — in September. She said it didn’t leave her enough time to feel confident ofwinning a major.

The No. 1-ranking changed seven times in 2017, with five different women assuming top spot —three for the first time.

Venus Williams says Serena is “here in spirit” supporting her in Australia, where she’s hopeful of ending an almost decade-long Grand Slam title drought. At 37, Venusis seeded No. 5.

“I feel my biggest expectation is from myself,” Venus Williams said, dismissing any notion that age or expectations will weigh heavily on her. “No one ever wantsto let themselves down.”

She led the WTA Tour in prize money last year ahead of Wimbledon champion Garbine Muguruza and Simona Halep, who endedthe year at No. 1.

Entering as the No. 1 seed for the first time at a major and at a tournament where she’s had back-to-back first-round exits, two-time French Open finalist Halep opens against teenage wildcard entry Destanee Aiava. She could face two-time Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova in the third round and Karolina Pliskovain the quarters.

Muguruza, who withdrew from the Sydney International before the quarterfinals with a sore right thigh after retiring during her first match at the Brisbane International because of cramping, is in the same quarter as U.S. Open finalist Madison Keys, Australian Open 2016 champion Kerber and Maria Sharapova, returning to Melbourne two years after a failed doping test here led to a 15monthsuspension.

No. 2 Caroline Wozniacki, who hasn’t won a major and last appeared in a Grand Slam final in 2014, is on the bottom half of the draw with Williams and has French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko and last year’s Australian semifinalist CoCo Vandeweghein her quarter.

While there were four different Grand Slam singles winners on the women’s side, with Ostapenko (French) and Sloane Stephens (U.S. Open) claiming their first titles, the men’s side rolled back the years with Federer and Nadal each winning two apiece.

Djokovic, a surprise secondround loser here last year, is hoping he can get fit enough to change that in 2018.

“I’m still not 100 percent — hopefully in three or four days I will be there,” Djokovic said.

He said he was doing everything possible to be ready. “I’ll be over the moon if I can play. Everythingat the moment is going in the rightdirection.”