The Holiday Season begins! ....... for tennis fans
MELBOURNE, Australia -- As three-time defending champion Novak Djokovic held the Australian Open trophy in a photo shoot before Friday's draw, he joked that having his fingerprints on it might in some way help him win the title for a fourth consecutive year.
The draw certainly didn't dent Djokovic's chances, with top-seeded Rafael Nadal, No. 4 Andy Murray, No. 5 Juan Martin del Potro and No. 6 Roger Federer all stacked in the opposite half.
Djokovic's new coach, six-time Grand Slam champion Boris Becker, attended the draw and duly noted: "It's a loaded half, that's for sure."
Djokovic, who is on a 24-match winning streak, opens against No. 90-ranked Lukas Lacko and potentially has a quarterfinal against Stanislas Wawrinka, who took him to 12-10 in the fifth set at the Australian Open last year. ....................(more)
The complete piece is at: http://espn.go.com/tennis/story/_/id/10271234/rafael-nadal-roger-federer-andy-murray-same-half-australian-open-draw
= new reply since forum marked as read
He is seeded #3 
Other than Federer and Ferrer, Delpo is OK by me. Sick to death of Rafa and Djoker and not at all interested in Murray. However Wawrinka is fun to watch.....
I am excited for tennis slams again. Yes, I will be rooting for Ferrer. I would love to see him win at least one slam before he has to retire. He has been plugging away for so long.
except maybe on a very, very hot court. I have seen all these guys lose a lot of steam when it is extremely hot, Ferrer included, but he NEVER stops. Age is catching up to him most likely and will be the final nail for him. If it is extremely hot his scrappyness and tenacity might carry him through.
Now see, I don't really know what I am talking about. I follow tennis lightly, mostly only the slams, but I LOVE it. I never played but took years of lessons with friends and LOVED it. My analysis is always based on that little bit. I moved from Agassi to Federer easily but my seconds have always been someone like Ferrer. The last second was Santoro, loved that guy. I also loved watching Dominic Hrbaty, lol. So take whatever I say as just a "fan girl" assessment. I love reading what those who really know tennis say. Still, being the only sport I really care for that does not include horses, I love to talk about it.
Tomic is a good player. I would love to see him do very well. I love seeing Tommy Haas still slugging away. He has my complete support and respect for coming back all these years later after all his injuries and doing it anyway.
Would love to see Rafa out soon. I am just sick to death of him and his play.
I am hoping there are some real women's moves this year. While I love Venus I don't care all that much for Serena although I have HUGE respect for her abilities. I have been watching Agga Radwanska and am hoping for her to make some real movement. I miss Bartoli, I had just begun to appreciate her odd play and her mind and personality. The others are sitting in a little group in my mind as I wait to determine who I really like, whose game I really enjoy.
As some of us wish to see Rafa drop by the wayside I am hoping if he does he takes Carolyn Wozniacki with him.
Keep talking, I love hearing about it from the people who really know the sport. 
I will be missing most of the first week being in a heavy rehearsal schedule so I will be depending on good DU analysis!
Hey thanks
I read somewhere that he's the reader of the tennis world. He reads constantly when he's not training/playing and keeps all his books. That is a cool guy.
Please read this:
He must have a cold shower 45 minutes before a match.
He must carry one racquet on to the court.
He must have five other racquets in his bag.
He must have wrapped his own white grip on his racquets in the locker room.
His bag must be placed next to his chair, on a towel, never on the chair.
He must sprint to the baseline after the spin of the coin. A split-step and then a jog around the back court.
He must towel down between every point. It can be ace or double fault - he must towel down as if he is covered in sweat.
He must run his hair behind both ears.
He must touch his nose.
He must pick at his underpants.
He must drink from two water bottles at changeovers. One bottle has cold water, one is warm.
He must face the labels of his drink bottles to the end he is about to play from.
He must never rise from his seat before his opponent.
He must wait at the net post so his opponent can reach his seat first.
He must never walk on the sidelines as if he is avoiding cracks in the pavement.
On clay, he must run his foot along the plastic baseline on the side of the court he is about to play from.
At the Australian Open, when going from one side of the court to the other, he must walk across the MELBOURNE sign.
He must have his socks at the exact same height.
He must fold his towels after every changeover.
Her cannot step on any lines on the court.
NOW TELL ME IF THIS DOESN'T DRIVE YOU INSANE BEFORE HE EVEN SERVES....... UGH.
and sorry for yelling.... he just drives me insane.
Would love an American man to win al the opens this year....gonna happen?? ah, NOT. 