Day one preview: a test of nerves

reparing in the conditions they’re going to play in is the preferred approach of tennis professionals getting ready for tournaments.

With temperatures over the past week in Melbourne not reaching above 25 degrees, and frequently drifting down to the low teens, it could be a surprise for competitors when the mercury rises to 31 and 33 on Monday and Tuesday as Australian Open 2012 begins.

That is just one of many factors to consider when trying to pick winners over the next fortnight.

Throw in a multitude of health issues – Roger’s back, Maria’s and Serena’s ankles, Rafa’s shoulder, Kim’s hip and Caroline’s wrist – and forecasting the outcomes of matches will be more of an art than a science.

Inevitably, it will come down to the head – who’s confident and in control of their nerves when it really counts.

In that regard, Nadal may be the most fascinating player to follow after releasing a book last year that catalogued his foibles (not swimming in water over his head etc.), cramping very publicly during a 2011 US Open media conference and losing six times in a row to now-nemesis Novak Djokovic.

Seeded No. 2, he is scheduled on Hisense Arena for his 2012 debut today against American qualifier Alex Kuznetsov, a 24-year-old ranked No. 167 who should be in over his head against the muscular Majorcan.

The match that will grip the host nation is second up at Rod Laver Arena as budding superstar Bernard Tomic attempts to stymie Spanish veteran Fernando Verdasco with the unique ‘passive aggressive’ game style that makes him so compelling to watch.

In the evening, Roger Federer, who says his injured back has only been seaworthy since last Friday, faces Russian qualifier Alexander Kudryavtsev in what will hopefully be a performance to reassure his fans of his fitness.

Worth keeping an eye is highly-hyped Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov, 20, versus the plodding Frenchman Jeremy Chardy, Mardy Fish facing the awkward left-handed power of Gilles Muller and a thirty-somethings confrontation between Jurgen Melzer and Ivo Karlovic.

Rod Laver Arena will also be a testing ground for Kim Clijsters’s hip versus qualifier Maria Joao Koehler of Portugal in the afternoon and for Wozniacki’s left wrist in the evening against Australia’s Anastasia Rodionova.

Margaret Court Arena kicks off with Aussie Casey Dellacqua against Bojana Jovanovski, a powerful but impetuous Serb, while 15-year-old sensation Ashleigh Barty from Ipswich, Australia, plays former prodigy Anna Tatishvili, 21, of Georgia.

For those preferring an older vintage, there’s Kimiko Date, 41, versus Eleni Daniilidou, 29. Both have played enough matches year to be in form, making it a tough one to pick.