The Albany Gazette - Doping and a match made in heaven: Australian Open storylines

AFP Sport picks out five themes to watch for:

- Doping questions swirl -

The Australian Open will get under way with the spectre of doping hanging over tennis.

It emerged in August that Jannik Sinner, the defending champion in Melbourne, had failed two doping tests five months earlier. He was subsequently cleared by tennis authorities to continue playing.

The Italian world number one denies wrongdoing, saying the steroid in question had entered his body following a massage by a therapist who had applied a cream to a cut on his own hand and then treated the player.

WADA has appealed against the decision to exonerate him and is seeking a ban of up to two years.

Then five-time major champion Iga Swiatek accepted a one-month ban after also testing positive for a banned substance.

She also denied knowingly doping, saying it came from contaminated non-prescription medication, with tennis authorities accepting her explanation.

- Djokovic tilt at history -

Novak Djokovic is the last of the "Big Three" still playing, following the retirements of Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal.

The 37-year-old Serb is the undoubted king of Melbourne Park, having won a leading 10 titles there.

Another triumph would be his 25th Grand Slam crown overall, a record.

In 2024 Djokovic failed to lift a major title in a year for the first time since 2017, calling it "one of the worst-performing seasons" of his career.

Djokovic did, however, win gold in Paris for his first Olympic singles title.

- A match made in heaven? -

Following that poor season by his sky-high standards, Djokovic made a surprise call to one of his old rivals to come and coach him. Enter Andy Murray.

"We were going through names and I realised that the perfect coach for me at this point would be someone who has been through the experiences I am going through, possibly a multiple Grand Slam winner, a former number one," said Djokovic.

Sitting in the coaching box will be a whole new experience for the three-time major champion Murray, who retired last year after persistent injury and is just a week older than Djokovic.

It promises to be a fascinating dynamic to watch, especially if Djokovic turns his fire on his coaching team in the heat of battle.

- Can anyone stop Sabalenka? -

Aryna Sabalenka is world number one and has won the Australian Open for the past two years. She also triumphed, again on hard courts, at the US Open in September.

So who can stop her? Sabalenka deposed Swiatek at the top of the rankings in October and the Pole's record in Melbourne is average by her standards, her best run being the semi-finals in 2022.

It also remains to be seen how the scrutiny of Swiatek's drug case will affect her.

Coco Gauff finished 2024 strongly, winning the China Open and the WTA Finals under a new coaching team, while another threat to Sabalenka could be Zheng Qinwen.

Sabalenka beat Zheng in straight sets in last year's Melbourne final and defeated her at the US Open and in the final in Wuhan, but the 22-year-old Chinese won Paris Olympic gold.

Or how about Naomi Osaka? She's a two-time Australian Open winner but is yet to recover top form since returning to tennis a year ago.

- Kyrgios is back (probably) -

Nick Kyrgios has barely been seen on a tennis court in the past two years because of injury.

The feeling is that the temperamental Australian has never fulfilled his talent after reaching the Wimbledon final in 2022 in his best performance.

It would be a surprise if Kyrgios goes far in Melbourne after injuries and inaction.

He pulled out of an exhibition match against Djokovic this week with an abdominal strain, in what was likely a precaution.

The 29-year-old is always box-office, especially on home soil, and with a raucous crowd behind him he will be looking to prove the many doubters wrong.

(Y.Harris--TAG)