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Philadelphia, PA (SportsNetwork.com) - In less than a week, Grand Slam tennis will be on the menu once again for the first time in four months. Stan Wawrinka will return as the defending mens champion, but he certainly wont be the favorite heading into the Australian Open. Novak Djokovic failed in his bid to capture a fourth straight and fifth overall title in Oz a year ago, but many expect him to return to the winners circle this time around. Djokovics 2015 season got off to a rough start with a loss at the hands of 6-foot-10 Croat Ivo Karlovic in a quarterfinal in Doha last week, but rest assured, hell be ready to go for another run at his best Grand Slam event. The top-ranked Serb has won four of the last seven championships in Oz and is 4-0 when reaching the final round at Melbourne Park. Last years Wimbledon champ and French Open runner-up probably figures his stiffest competition will come from last weeks season-opening Brisbane champion, Roger Federer, who claimed his 1,000th career match win with the victory in Brisbane, joining Jimmy Connors (1,253) and Ivan Lendl (1,071) on that exclusive short list. The 17-time Grand Slam king is a four-time Aussie champ and former runner-up who hasnt run the Down Under table since 2010. The former world No. 1 Federer was last years Wimbledon runner-up to Djokovic and hasnt captured a major title since the 2012 Wimbledon Championships. Note: If Djokovic or Federer capture this years Aussie, that future Hall of Famer would set the Open Era record with five such championships. Then theres the great Rafael Nadal. The Spanish bull has been sidelined since October before returning to action in Doha just last week only to suffer a first-round setback against German fellow left-hander Michael Berrer. Rafa was rusty and it showed. Can he shake off the rust in time to make a big run in Melbourne? The former No. 1 star captured his lone Aussie title six years ago and is a two-time runner-up Down Under, including last year when he was shocked by Wawrinka in four sets in the final. Rafa was slowed mightily by a back injury in the title match and that back problem plagued him for much of the 2014 campaign, as did a wrist injury and a bout with appendicitis, which led to a season-ending appendectomy. Sure, Rafa captured yet another French Open title last year, but 2014 was basically a lost season for the 14-time Grand Slam champ, as he battled that bevy of physical ailments. Having said all that, I would still expect Rafa to be in the mix in Melbourne. The current world No. 4 Wawrinka broke through for his first-ever major title at the 14 Aussie, but he certainly benefited from that Nadal back injury, as the Spanish great was running at less than half speed in that particular final. Dont get me wrong, Stan played great at last years Aussie, but Im not expecting a repeat performance. He also had that tremendous gutsy victory over Djokovic in the quarterfinals, as Wawrinka prevailed in arguably the match of the year by outlasting the then-reigning champ in five sets, including a dramatic 9-7 fifth set. The Swiss slugger opened his latest campaign with a title in India last week. Note: Djokovic, Federer and Nadal had combined to win the previous eight Aussie Opens before Stan the Man broke through last year; and Federer, Nadal and Murray have combined to produce the last six runners-up at the physically demanding major. Kei Nishikori will look to become the first-ever ......................................... mens champion in Melbourne ... or at any major for that matter. The world No. 5 was last years surprise U.S. Open runner-up and just might have enough game to challenge the big boys this month. He reached the fourth round in Melbourne in each of the last two years and was a quarterfinalist there back in 2012. How bout Andy Murray? Is he all the way back from that back injury? Murray hasnt reached a major final since winning it all at Wimbledon in 2013. The athletic Brit is a three-time Aussie Open runner-up and has reached at least the quarterfinals there every year since 2010. He crashed out in the quarters a year ago while still on the mend from back surgery, but I think hes primed for another big run in the Bourne. Murray is a two-time Grand Slam champion and an Olympic gold medalist who hasnt missed a major quarterfinal (when competing) since the 2010 U.S. Open. The mens Top 10 is rounded out by last weeks Doha runner-up and former Wimbledon finalist Tomas Berdych, rising Canadian Milos Raonic, U.S. Open champion Marin Cilic, and last weeks Doha champ David Ferrer. Cilic has already announced he will skip the 2015 Aussie due to a right shoulder injury, which will make world No. 11 Grigor Dimitrov a Top 10 seed in Oz. My favorites out of this lot of players to make a run are Raonic and Dimitrov. Raonic, who was last weeks Brisbane runner-up to the great Federer, possesses perhaps the best service game on the planet right now and is in the best shape of his young career, while Maria Sharapovas beau, Dimitrov, is a Grand Slam ace in the making, with his all-around game and fluid style that has forced the comparisons to Federer, thus prompting the nickname Baby Fed. Dimitrov reached the Aussie quarters a year ago. On the comeback front, former U.S. Open champion Juan Martin del Potro returned to action this week in Sydney, this after being out of commission since last February with a wrist injury. I dont expect too much from Delpo right now. FYI: The last American man to capture the Aussie was Andre Agassi back in 2003. An American will not win it again this time around. The easy pick here would be Djokovic ... and thats exactly who Im goin with. Steve Largent Youth Jersey .Gasol had 16 points and 13 rebounds, and the Bulls beat the winless Orlando Magic 98-90 on Tuesday night.Jimmy Butler led the Bulls with 21 points and Taj Gibson added 16 for Chicago, which finally pulled away in the final minutes of a game that was tied after three quarters. 12th Fan Seahawks Jersey . The 23-year-old Neustaedter will move at the end of the season when his contract with Moenchengladbach expires. He signed a four-year deal with Schalke. http://www.footballseahawksfanatics.com ... ks-jersey/. -- Jacksonville Jaguars running back Maurice Jones-Drew practiced in a limited capacity Friday, a positive sign he might be able to play against the Tennessee Titans. Steve Largent Jersey . The victory strengthened Liverpools position in the top four after Tottenham lost 1-0 at Norwich in the days late kickoff, cutting the north London club six points adrift of fourth place and the final Champions League slot for next season. Marshawn Lynch Youth Jersey . James scored 25 points against his former team, leading the energized Heat to a 114-107 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers on Saturday night. Dwyane Wade added 24 points and Chris Bosh had 22 for the Heat, idle since a 90-84 loss Tuesday at Indiana.DORTMUND, Germany -- Real Madrid failed to score without the injured Cristiano Ronaldo and only just hung on to advance to its fourth straight Champions League semifinal after losing 2-0 at Borussia Dortmund on Tuesday. With its star striker on the bench because of a left-knee injury, Madrid could afford to miss an early penalty and still go through 3-2 on aggregate. "We are pleased to have reached the semis, that was our goal. But we are not pleased with the way we did it," Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti said. Marco Reus scored in the 24th and 37th minutes, both times after Madrid mistakes, while Dortmund wasted several excellent opportunities in the second half, including a shot against the post. Nine-time champion Madrid has lost in the semifinals for the past three years -- and was eliminated last season by Dortmund. Robert Lewandowski, who scored four goals in a 4-1 home win for Dortmund last season, returned after suspension but failed to score. Dortmund coach Juergen Klopp said he was "proud of the image" his team projected -- but lamented its failure to score in Madrid. "That is where we lost this tie, we played badly there," Klopp said. In Tuesdays other match, 2012 champion Chelsea beat Paris Saint-Germain 2-0 in west London to reach the last four on the away goals rule after a 3-3 draw on aggregate. Madrid had some late chances but failed to find the net for the first time after a record run of 34 Champions League matches with at least one goal scored. Dortmund dominated in the first half despite conceding a generously awarded penalty. A cross from Fabio Coentrao in the 17th minute hit Lukasz Piszzczek in the arm.dddddddddddd. Angel Di Maria took the spot kick but Roman Weidenfeller dived to his left and saved the shot. "That was no penalty," Klopp said. Reus opened the scoring after a botched attempt by Pepe to head a long ball back to Iker Casillas. The Madrid keeper mistimed his approach and Reus chipped the ball past him before slotting home. Reus doubled the lead after another mistake by Madrid as it tried to move the ball forward. Reus passed to Robert Lewandowski, whose shot hit the post, but Reus was there to drive the rebound into the roof of the net. "After we missed the penalty, they got the upper hand. We lost possession too often and we basically gifted them the goals," Ancelotti said. "It could have ended differently, but we were more clever in the second half." For Madrid, Karim Benzema narrowly failed to connect with a low ball from Gareth Bale at the far post in the 59th minute. Moments later, Benzema had claims for a penalty denied after contact with Hummels. Dortmund could easily have levelled the tie in the 65th, when Reus put through Mkhitaryan, who rounded Casillas but shot against the post from an acute angle. Casillas then saved two more attempts from the Armenian. "We suffered, thats what happens in these types of games, but were into the semifinals," said Casillas, who only plays in the Champions League and the Spanish cup. Weidenfeller made a good late save from Benzema, after the France striker had turned two Dortmund defenders in the 80th. Ancelotti said Ronaldo did not have a "major problem" and was kept on the bench as a precaution. 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