The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Men’s top seeds to watch
ANDY MURRAY (1), Great Britain 2016 match record: 78-9 (9 titles) Career singles titles: 44 (3 majors, no Australian Opens) Topspin: Usurped Novak Djokovic for the No. 1 ranking after a stunning finish to 2016, when he won Wimbledon and the Olympic gold medal at Rio de Janeiro and added titles in Beijing, Shanghai, Vienna and Paris . ... Clinched the yearending No. 1 ranking by winning the ATP Finals . ... Became the first British man to reach No. 1 in the ATP rankings, the second-oldest player to debut at No. 1 . ... After setting so many marks for British men, one still eludes him: an Australian Open title . ... Has lost 5 finals in the last 7 years at Melbourne Park, including 4 to Djokovic (’16, ’15, ’13, ’11). NOVAK DJOKOVIC (2), Serbia 2016 match record: 65-9 (7 titles) Career singles titles: 67 (12 majors, 6 at Australian Open) Topspin: Nobody has won more Australian Open titles than Djokovic, who made his Grand Slam breakthrough by winning the 2008 final as the No. 3 seed . ... Won three in a row from 2011-’13 and the last two — both against Murray . ... Excels on the hard courts at the Australian Open, where he is aiming to be the first man to win seven singles crowns. MILOS RAONIC (3), Canada 2016 match record: 52-17 (1 title) Career singles titles: 8 (No majors) Topspin: Started a breakout season here last year by reaching the semifinals, beating Stan Wawrinka in 5 sets before losing to Murray in 5 . ... Became the first Canadian man to reach a Grand Slam final, at Wimbledon, where he lost to Murray . ... All 8 career titles have come on hardcourts. STAN WAWRINKA (4), Switzerland 2016 match record: 46-18 (4 titles) Career singles titles: 15 (3 majors, 2014 Australian Open) Topspin: The long-time No. 2 even in his home country, Wawrinka won his maiden Grand Slam title at Melbourne Park in 2014, when he beat Nadal to become the oldest first-time major winner since Goran Ivanisevic in 2001 . ... Has learned how to peak when it counts, beating the World No. 1 in the finals at the Australian Open, the French Open (against Djokovic in 2015) and the U.S. Open (Djokovic, last year) . ... According to the ATP, he is 0-20 in other rounds and tournaments against the No. 1 player. KEI NISHIKORI (5), Japan 2016 match record: 58-21 (1 title) Career singles titles: 11 (No majors) Topspin: Under pressure in Japan, where expectations have been rising since his run to the U.S. Open final in 2014 . ... Reached the second week of every major in 2016, including a win over Murray at the U.S. Open before losing to Wawrinka in the semifinals . ... Was hampered by a hip problem in the final of the Brisbane International . ... Has won all but one of his 11 titles on hard courts.
RAFAEL NADAL (9), Spain 2016 match record: 39-14 (2 titles) Career singles titles: 69 (14 majors, 2009 Australian Open)
Topspin: Had two lengthy stints on the sidelines last season, including 2½ months off after pulling out of French Open before third round with left wrist injury and another rest at the end of the season . ... In between, won the Olympic doubles gold medal. ROGER FEDERER (17), Switzerland 2016 match record: 21-7 (0 titles) Career singles titles: 88 (17 majors, 4 Australian Opens) Topspin: Returning after a six-month injury layoff . ... His record of 65 consecutive majors ended when he pulled out of last year’s French Open . ... Hasn’t added to his record 17 Grand Slam singles titles since his win at Wimbledon in 2012 . ... Has reached the semifinals or better at 12 of the last 13 Australian Opens, winning the last of his four titles in 2010 . ... Had surgery on his left knee last February, leading to the disrupted season.