Will Rafa spoil Djoker’s fun?

THE last time Rafael Nadal played in the Australian Open final, he was beaten 7-5 in the fifth set by Novak Djokovic in a grand slam record 5 hrs 53 minutes in one of the greatest matches of all time.

To warm up for that tournament, the Spaniard played in the Qatar Open in Doha where he was beaten in the semi-final by enigmatic Frenchman Gael Monfils. After missing last year’s Aussie Open with a knee injury – won by Djokovic for the third straight time – Nadal is back.

Not only that, he comes to Melbourne as the world No.1 after completing one of the greatest seasons on record in 2013, winning 10 titles.

And in what may be a good omen for his chances of claiming a 14th grand slam, the 28-year-old has again come via Doha. Coincidentally he ran into

The Serbian backed up his marathon victory over Nadal in 2012 by beating Andy Murray in last year’s final. And he arrives in Melbourne on the back of a 24-match winning streak, the last of those being the final of the ATP World Tour Finals in London in November when he beat Nadal 6-3 6-4.

While Djokovic and Murray will go into the tournament as the bookies’ favourites, veterans Roger Federer and Lleyton Hewitt will no doubt have plenty of support among the fans.

Hewitt will be playing in a record 18th consecutive Australian Open after qualifying as a 15-year-old in 1997.

“When you first start out, you’re happy to play just one or two main draws as a teenager. To play them all straight, as well, is an amazing accomplishment and something that when I do finally retire I’ll be pretty proud of,” he said.