10 fearless predictions for 2016

1. Rafael Nadal will return to the top four in time for Roland Garros but again remain Slamless
2. Angelique Kerber will suffer a maiden Slam hangover
3. Serena Williams will match Steffi Graf’s record but fail to repeat her three-Slam season
4. Victoria Azarenka will reach her first Slam final since 2013 and win an Olympic singles medal
5. Mind the gap: Novak Djokovic to dominate fellow members of the ‘Big Four’
6. Roger Federer and Martina Hingis to win Olympic mixed doubles gold
7. Djokovic to win first Olympic gold medal
8. Daria Gavrilova will crack top 20 and pass Sam Stosur as the top-ranked Australian woman
9. Milos Raonic gives Canada more to cheer about
10. Belinda Bencic to reach first Slam semifinal

1. Rafael Nadal will return to the top four in time for Roland Garros but again remain Slamless
After a prediction the 14-time Slam champion would fail to add to his tally last season, it does not seem so bold to predict a 15th major will elude him once more in 2016. A first-round boilover at the Australian Open will not have done his confidence any great favours but expect him to make up ground in the rankings during his preferred claycourt swing in time to snare the No.4 seeding at Roland Garros. Given the Spaniard failed to make it to a semifinal at a major last year there are points aplenty for the 29-year-old to gain and he will end the season back in the top four.

2. Angelique Kerber will suffer a maiden Slam hangover
Francesca Schiavone (first round), Li Na (first round), Petra Kvitova (first round) and Sam Stosur (third round) each bombed dismally in the next major after their maiden 2010 and 2011 Grand Slam triumphs, while Marion Bartoli (Wimbledon 2013) and Flavia Pennetta (US Open 2015) retired after theirs. The surprise winner of this year’s women’s singles at Melbourne Park, Angelique Kerber, is the new world No.2 and will have an added weight of expectation when she arrives at Roland Garros. An early exit on the clay would not come as a huge surprise.

3. Serena Williams will match Steffi Graf’s record but fail to repeat her three-Slam season
Twice now the 21-time Grand Slam champion has stumbled with history on the line – in the semifinals at the US Open where she was just two wins short of claiming her maiden calendar-year Grand Slam, and now in the Australian Open final, one win shy of Steffi Graf’s 22-Slam Open era record. Motivation in an Olympic year will buoy her to a stronger second half of the year in the majors.

4. Victoria Azarenka will reach her first Slam final since 2013 and win an Olympic singles medal
Arguably the form player coming into this year’s Australian Open after dominating Kerber in the Brisbane final, the Belarusian is showing more frequent glimpses of the form which took her to the top of the rankings. Still, Azarenka has not reached a semifinal at a major since 2013. Expect her to break the post-injury mental hoodoo to feature in a Grand Slam decider again in 2016 with an Olympic singles medal to inject some much-needed confidence.

5. Mind the gap: Novak Djokovic to dominate fellow members of the ‘Big Four’
The Serb fell one match short of completing a calendar-year Grand Slam in 2015 but his conqueror came from outside the so-called Big Four, in Stan Wawrinka. The margin in the rankings between a world No.1 and the contenders has never been greater and while Federer was the only player to defeat him more than once in 2015, it never came on the biggest stages. Djokovic dominated his greatest rival in the Australian Open semifinals before slaying Murray in a final at Melbourne Park for the fourth time. By the time Roland Garros comes around, it will be two years since any of Federer, Murray or Nadal has beaten him at a major; don’t expect them to close the gap on their runaway rival in 2016.

6. Roger Federer and Martina Hingis to win Olympic mixed doubles gold
Fingis? Hinderer? OK, the portmanteau still needs some work but the news that Switzerland’s two greatest players have agreed to team up 15 years after contesting the Hopman Cup together is going to be the biggest story of the Rio 2016 Olympic Games tennis event. Neither player is entering for a hit and giggle. Given Hingis’ current dominance of women’s doubles and Federer’s desire to add more gold to his mantelpiece, eyes will be fixed firmly on the top prize.

7. Djokovic to win first Olympic gold medal
All have Grand Slam titles and a Davis Cup title to their name, but there is one thing Federer, Nadal, Murray and Wawrinka all have, which Djokovic doesn’t – an Olympic gold medal. As a proud Serb – barring a first Roland Garros title – gold on the hard courts in Rio will be among Djokovic’s highest priorities in 2016.

8. Daria Gavrilova will crack top 20 and pass Sam Stosur as the top-ranked Australian woman
The WTA Newcomer of the Year for 2015 had a breakthrough Australian Open campaign, downing two seeds on her way to her first fourth-round showing at a major. The 21-year-old will likely be seeded at Roland Garros, having now risen to No.33 in the rankings, just six places off Stosur. With no points to defend at either Roland Garros or Wimbledon, expect Gavrilova to mount a serious push for the top 20 in the second half of the season.

9. Milos Raonic gives Canada more to cheer about
After a title run in Brisbane ahead of the Open, the besleeved, mouthguarded Raonic reached his second Grand Slam semifinal at Melbourne Park before a groin injury dampened his run with the finish post well within reach against Andy Murray. Provided the 25-year-old can stay healthy, expect him to return to the top six and make a deep run at Wimbledon where his monster serve will win him more freebies than a trade show sample bag.

10. Belinda Bencic to reach first Slam semifinal
The Swiss 18-year-old seriously tested five-time major winner Maria Sharapova in her maiden fourth round Australian Open appearance, having reached her first Grand Slam quarterfinal at last year’s US Open. The highest-ranked teenager in the women’s game has already claimed 10 top-10 scalps in her short career under the guidance of Swiss great Hingis, and Hingis’s mother Melanie Molitor. Impressive on all surfaces, Bencic will better her quarterfinal run at one of the three remaining majors.