This is a great time to be a tennis fan. For the first time in over a decade, there are at least four players in both the men’s and women’s draw who have a legitimate chance to win the Australian Open, which starts tomorrow.

On the men’s side, Roger Federer will be the favourite, but only by a whisker. Rafael Nadal is finally finding some form, and Djokovic and Andy Murray will always be a threat on hard courts. Then, there is the surprise resurgence of the underrated Davydenko, who has now put together a 6-0 record against the top five, including two wins each over Federer and Nadal.

Thanks to the quirks of the rankings, Andy Murray fell to number five in the world last week. He will retake fourth spot tomorrow but that’ll be to late for him to avoid a potential quarter-final match up against Nadal. Murray has never progressed beyond the fourth round of the Australian Open but hard courts are his best surface and if he can just learn to attack as well as counter punch he could defeat the Spaniard.

Apart from the top six, Cilic will be the dangerous floater in the draw. His win over Murray at the US Open was the first sign of growing maturity and with a decent draw he could make it deep into the second week.

On the women’s side, things are finally getting exciting. The likes of Dinara Safina, Jelena Jankovic and other headcases will no longer have a shot at winning, and finding bizarre ways to throw away, slams. The winner should come from one of Serena Williams, Justine Henin, Kim Clijsters and Maria Sharapova. Clijsters and Henin have already played what may be the best match of the year at Brisbane and they could meet in the quarters if Henin can overcome Dementiava in the second round.

The days of Federer and Serena domination may come to an end this year. The battle to dethrone them should make this the most competitive season in recent memory.