Australian Open Outlook.

When was the last time the No. 17 seeded player faced an unseeded player in the first round on Rod Laver arena in prime time??  Such is the drawing power of Roger Federer, seeded 17 after a 6-month absence, who will play Jurgen Melzer.  Roger should win this, but the match might provide some indication of his chances to go deep in the tournament.  At the very least, Fed should go down as the most dangerous floater in the history of grand slam tennis!  Other interesting first round matches include:

The men:

Sock/Herbert:  Herbert is a good young French player with outstanding skills in doubles, and Sock is a young American looking to make a major statement in 2017.  Sock won the warmup in Aukland.   Sock has a weakness for playing low percentage tennis on big points, and that could make this match with Herbert more exciting than it should be.

Coric/Dolgopolov: Alex Dolgopolov is a talented shot maker who will probably never win a slam, and Coric is a young prospect whose luster has dipped a bit over the past several months, but who has been identified as a possible future slam winner.  This is a very important match for Borna Coric.

The women:

Bouchard/Chirico.  Chirico, the young American hopeful, will play Bouchard, the young Canadian who has “been there, done that”, with a trip to the Wimbledon final in the past, but whose career has been a roller coaster ride since the end of 2014.  This match could be close, and is a very important one indeed for Bouchard.

Crawford/Davis:  Two Americans going at it.  Crawford is a young, large woman with large shots, while Davis is a diminutive, feisty, fast player with more experience.  Davis won the Aukland warmup with a big win over Ana Konjuh.   This one could be interesting.

Halep/Rogers.  Simona Halep is one of the best players in the world, but can  be vulnerable at times, and Shelby Rogers is a very determined, hard hitting player.  Halep had better be on her toes for this one.

Konjuh/Mladenovic.  Ana Konjuh is a great young prospect, and Mladenovic is a very talented Frenchwoman.  This could be a close, dramatic match.

Bencic/S. Williams.  Serena has played very little tennis since the 2016 US Open, and Bencic is a steady professional who knows her business.  Serena has been vulnerable early in slams over the course of her career, and Belinda is no pushover.  Pay attention to this one.