ELSEWHERE IN SPORT

Proud holder of the most Australian Open wins in tennis history, Melbourne Park has certainly become Novak's playground. A seven-time winner of the Asia-Pacific slam, it's always hard to go past the Serb when grinding down under, especially after his rampant ATP Cup form where he went through undefeated. The defending champion actually has a borderline tough first round, facing Jan-Lennard Struff, follwed by the in-form Dan Evans in round three but Djokovic will defeat Tsitsipas, Federer and Nadal in consecutive rounds and take his eighth title.

Previous holder of the Australian Open record before Djokovic rudely interrupted with last year's victory, Federer has a major affiliation with the land down under. Coached by Australian Peter Carter before his untimely death in 2002, the 38-year-old Swiss star continues to supply court-side tickets to Carter's family for the Australian Open, an event he has won six times. Picking up his most recent Grand Slam victory in 2018, Federer comes into the Open down on tournament play and faces the potential challenge of the almost mirror image Grigor Dimitrov in the fourth round but will slide through before dropping to Djokovic in the semi.

This time last season, the name Daniil Medvedev meant quite little to those not fully engrossed in their tennis. A lap around the sun later and the Russian, who has been described as "computer-generated", is one of the heavy favourites to take home a Grand Slam in 2020 after winning 59 matches last year. Medvedev's prediction was a tough one, on his day he could take Nadal out but I can't see it happening this year. He'll defeat the in-form Audrey Rublev in the quarter before falling short of another final.

One of only two Grand Slams that Thiem is yet to make the quarter-finals of, the Australian Open has become elusive for the hard-hitting Austrian. The 26-year-old is a completely different beast to the one that has previously taken on Rod Laver Arena and its surrounds, with the man often described as the heir to Rafa's French Open throne developing an aggressive game. Faced with crafty left-hander Adrian Mannarino, Thiem will take on a challenging few rounds with Kevin Anderson and Felix Auger-Allassime in his path.

The surprise packet of last year's tournament, the Greek giant-killer is a serious threat in 2020. Bursting his way to the semi-finals following wins against Federer and now top-10 player Roberto Bautista-Agut, Tsitsipas fell against Nadal before winning tournaments at Marseille, Estoril and the season-ending ATP Finals. His ATP Cup campaign showed an angry, frustrated side against Nick Kyrgios but expect the Greek to recover here and run deep into the tournament and potentially even win the thing. But, unfortunately, he will fall short, bumping into the rampant Novak Djokovic in the quarter-finals.

Despite injury issues and form slumps plaguing his last few years on tour, you can't count out a former winner of the tournament. Like his higher-ranked compatriot, Wawrinka was unable to prepare for the Australian Open with the ATP Cup, instead taking to Dubai as the number one seed - falling to Corentin Moutet. Blessed with a beautiful one-handed backhand, the 2014 winner is set to take on Damir Dzumhur in the first round before running into the path of Medvedev in round four.

Dangerously slipping out of the seedings, a repeat performance of 2018 will be a big effort for lanky Croatian but one that he is capable of if in form. Winner of the 2014 US Open, Cilic came close to replicating the feat on Australian soil in 2018 but fell to the Swiss maestro. The 31-year-old faces Corentin Moutet in round one with his first seeded contest being Benoit Paire, which I predict he'll get through before going down to Roberto Bautista-Agut.

Frustratingly brilliant yet as equally inconsistent, Nick Kyrgios certainly has all the tools to stand atop the dais as Australian Open champion come February 2. Winning fans with his on and off-court start to the decade after kicking off the sporting fraternity's bushfire relief fundraising, the at-times temperamental 24-year-old was on his best behaviour during the ATP Cup, even claiming victory over Stefanos Tsitsipas. Fresh off the news that top-ranked Australian and 'bro' of Kyrgios, Alex De Minaur, has withdrawn from the Open with a four-centimetre abdominal tear, the big-serving fundraiser is now the country's top hope. The draw has certainly not been kind to the 23^rd seed, facing Nadal in round four after pushing past Karen Khachanov.

Known as one of the most genuine blokes on tour, Millman's home slam hasn't provided a generous crop of fruit for the baseline battler. The 30-year-old journeyman, who was the country's third-string singles player at the ATP Cup, has shown he can lift when push comes to shove at Grand Slam level, defeating Roger Federer at the 2018 US Open en route to the quarter-finals. If Millman can push past the in-form Hubert Hurkacz (which unfortunately I can't see), he will face a rematch against Federer, with an interesting sub-plot forming.

Other Australians confirmed in the draw include Jordan Thompson, James Duckworth, Chris O'Connell, Marc Polmans, Alex Bolt, Andrew Harris and John-Patrick Smith.