[William]

Pete Sampras
Martina Hingis
Tommy Haas
Nicholas Kiefer
Thomas Johansson
Tim Henman
Greg Rusedski
.............

 

[J. Corwin]

Yea, that's sad.

 

[Jessi]

Even without those players, the field is still very strong. Agassi, Safin, Hewitt, Federer, Ferrero, Moya, Guga... It should be a great AO. I wonder who will be champ?

 

[William]

I will pick Marat or Andre!

For girls, I definitely pick Venus instead of Serena!

 

[CmonAussie]

Let's put it in perspective. Of the players who've quit from Aus Open only Sampras is a real disappointment. Hingis is also quite sad- but she seems to have burnt out her career already at just 22yrs~ amazing how she choked in last years final. Henmen & Rusedski are no great loss, as they weren't going past the 4th round anyway- but would've been nice to have them for the sake of the Poms in the crowd. -> Despite the absentees, AO 2003 promises to be a crackerjack: Will Serena complete her slam? Will Lleyton grab his 3rd leg in a career slam? Will Roddick or Ferrero finally rise to the ocassion? Will Safin prove he's here to stay? What about Venus- can she turn the tables on her sis! And then a lot of people hope Clisters will break the Williams domination. Also Andre may have his last chance to win another big one. Last thought - lets see if Paradorn is ready to join the big league. It's going to be intriguing this year, since AO will probably set the tone for whole season. I just hope there's no repeat of Johansson type of flukes. C'mon the usual suspects~ time to step it up!

 

[TheBoiledEgg]

Has Johansson definately withdrawn ??

i know Kiefer hasn't offically gone yet either, he'll decide next week.

one big plus is gonna be the return of Richard Krajicek (touchwood), might be down in the 100's but he's still a BIG name and he'll cause some problems to quite a few with his big game

 

[warfreakbix]

Agreed, even without these players Australian Open will and can survive. The ATP is so unpredictable its driving me bonkers and I guess for the WTA who can and will unseat Serena. It will be exciting to find out!!

 

[William]

Yes, some of them may not have such effects on the results. But it the cast of participation is definitely reduced!

 

[kfh_9118]

There are too many of my favourites players who won't play Aussie Open, and it's very disappointed Hingis, Sampras, Rusedski, Kiefer (hopefully not)...

As TBE said, Richard K will be the one to watch, and I like him as well... Hope Mark P will do well here as well.

Has Johansson withdrawn as well?? He is still commited to Kooyong exhibition next week I think....

 

[William]

It's always sad to hear a defending champion withdrawing the tourn. So hope Johansson will join

 

[Experimentee]

None of those are disappointments to me, except Sampras. I dont think they would have been a factor anyway. But its sad that Johansson cant defend his title, even though he wouldnt have much chance of winnig.

 

[Ma. Estefania]

It will be interesting anyway, IMO.
Except in the women's side....zzz....quite boring without Martina around.

 

[William]

Nothing will be that interesting without Magnus!

 

[Ma. Estefania]

Well, yeah, I agree....

 

[maratski]

Marat and Richard will be there, that's enough for me and the morrocans of course

 

[tennisvideos]

Both the mens and womens draws still have almost all of the great players. I'm very excited about it all and will be flying down to Melbourne for 3 days of tennis action... also will be seeing some of the Adidas International in Sydney.

The men's is wide open once more, and that's exciting. And it will be great to see if someone can cause a few upsets in the womens. I'm excited anyway!

 

[Beulah]

No Tommy. *sobs uncontrollably*

 

[dbc]

Johansson has withdrawn this week, so looks like he's out.
Earlier heard Magnus had been practising with Krajicek last week, so what has happened to him since.
Krajicek has started the year well. Hope Mark P stays healthly & does well at Melbourne Park.

 

[kfh_9118]

Any news on Nicolas Kiefer???

 

[Scotso]

Even without those players, the field is still very strong. Agassi, Safin, Hewitt, Federer, Ferrero, Moya, Guga... It should be a great AO. I wonder who will be champ?

Agreed. I'm sad that a lot of my faves have had to withdraw, but it should still be a good tournament.