Affectionately known as the Happy Slam, the Australian Open, the first major on the tennis calendar, kicks off on Monday in Melbourne.

Women’s Singles:On paper, women's singles has had only one favorite for some time – No. 1 seed Serena Williams. Williams' dominance of women's tennis was so complete last year that she won 3 of the 4 slams and missed out only on the US Open. Grudgingly so, the world has taken 21 slams to finally come to acknowledge her class, unlike the delightful Roger Federer. The Australian Open may very well see the defending champion equal Steffi Graf’s Open Era record of 22 slams. Serena, however, seems to be suffering from some injuries even though she has claimed complete match fitness.

No. 5 seed Maria Sharapova, the 2008 champion and last year’s finalist, won titles in Brisbane and Rome in 2015 before injuries derailed her. Nonetheless, her mental strength and competitive instincts have, time and again, won her tons of matches and she yet seems the prime challenger to Serena – if only she did not have to directly challenge Serena along the way. But she is drawn into Serena's quarter meaning it may very well be an 18th straight defeat for the Russian miss in the QFs. (She holds an abysmal 0-17 record against Serena for the past 11 years)

However, injuries to Serena and recent form of others indicates we may have a few more favorites.

a) No. 4 seed Agnieszka Radwanska (POL): A semifinalist here in 2014, the Pole has been in great form the past four months winning titles in Tokyo, Tianjin, the WTA Finals in Singapore at the end of 2015 and the Shenzhen title just last week. Her all-around prowess can befuddle the biggest of hitters.

b) No. 14 seed Victoria Azarenka (BLR): The 2012 and 2013 Australian Open champion, after a tough couple of years with injuries and lack of confidence, is now officially back to her winning ways after storming through the Brisbane draw last week to lift her 1st title in two and a half years.

Dark horses:

a) No. 2 seed Simona Halep (ROM): The Romanian keeps improving. If she overcomes the mental hurdle of handling pressure as well as the left Achilles injury, she is set for a deep run.

b) No. 3 seed Garbine Muguruza (ESP): The Wimbledon finalist, who reached the semifinals of the WTA Finals last fall, hits big and can easily power her way through the draw.

c) No. 8 seed Venus Williams (USA): After winning Wuhan and Zhuhai in the fall, many expect big things from the 35-year-old. If fit and healthy, she can crack her serve and go all the way.

d) No. 12 seed Belinda Bencic (SUI): The 18-year-old made huge strides last year with big tournament wins in Eastbourne and Toronto. The talented Swiss is destined for a huge run.

e) No. 23 seed Svetlana Kuznetsova (RUS): Melbourne hasn’t been her best slam, but the two-time Slam winner just won the Sydney tune-up and can beat anyone on her day.

f) No. 24 seed Sloane Stephens (USA): Last summer, she won her first title in Washington. Last week, she won her 2nd in Auckland. The former semifinalist is playing some of her best tennis.

How the draw has panned out:

a) Serena Williams has drawn Camila Giorgi of Italy in the first round. This match will feature a lot of winners and a lot of unforced errors. The big-hitting Giorgi is going to deprive Williams of rhythm and make life difficult in what will be the American’s 1st competitive match in 4 months.

b) No. 6 seed Petra Kvitova of the Czech Republic opens her campaign against Luksika Kumkhum of Thailand, the qualifier who beat the Czech in the 1st round of the 2014 edition. The Czech struggles with the hot conditions of Melbourne, so will history repeat itself or will it be sweet revenge?

c) Halep and A. Radwanska have tough matches early on. Halep could face Hobart champion and nemesis Alize Cornet in the second round. Radwanska could meet Hobart finalist and former Wimbledon runner-up Eugenie Bouchard in the same round.

d) Sharapova is in Williams’ quarter in the draw meaning they could meet in the quarterfinals. In other words, there will be no repeat of last year’s final.

e) Azarenka is in the much more open bottom half of the draw. After tough luck with the draws last year, the Belarusian gets the break she needed.

Women’s Singles draw http://www.ausopen.com/en_AU/scores/draws/ws/wsdraw.pdf

Men’s Singles:On paper, again there is only one clear favorite - No. 1 seed Novak Djokovic (SRB): The world No. 1 had an incredible 2015 that saw him win 3 slams, 6 Masters 1000 events as well as the ATP World Tour Finals in London. The Australian Open is his favorite slam, him having won it 5 times in his career. A sixth win here looks likely given his dismantling of Rafael Nadal in the Doha final last week.

No. 4 seed Stan Wawrinka (SUI) is the only player not named Djokovic to win the Australian Open in the past 5 years having won in 2014 beating the Serb along the way. His pure aggression and sublime one-handed backhand are unmatched. The last player to hand Djokovic a slam loss (2015 Roland Garros final), Wawrinka comes in having won the Chennai Open last week.

Other favorites include:

a) No. 2 seed Andy Murray (GBR): The Brit has reached the Australian Open final 4 times. The conditions suit him.

b) No. 13 seed Milos Raonic (CAN): The Canadian had a setback last year with injuries, but a strong off-season has rejuvenated him as he went on to win Brisbane last week beating Roger Federer in straight sets in the final. Fit and healthy, he is hitting that big serve which is hard to read. He is also more confident going for his groundstrokes. Watch out for him.

c) No. 3 seed Roger Federer (SUI): Recent history suggests that winning 7 best-of-five matches has become a tough task for him, but it’s never wise to write off someone who holds 17 Slams.

d) No. 5 seed Rafael Nadal (ESP): Even though he didn’t win a slam last year in part due to a loss in confidence and a lack of zip on his lethal forehand, the Spaniard showed signs of life last fall and this past week in Doha. A confidence player, if everything clicks, he might be victorious.

Dark horses:

a) No. 6 seed Tomas Berdych (CZE): He reached the semifinals here in Melbourne the last 2 years. Has he plateaued or can he go further this year?

b) No. 9 seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (FRA): The 2008 finalist is a flashy player with tons of power and charisma. When his mind is willing, he can tear a draw apart.

c) No. 12 seed Marin Cilic (CRO): It’s hard to believe that it was in 2014 that the Croat won his only slam at the US Open. A former semifinalist here, the hard courts suit his big game perfectly.

d) No. 29 seed Nick Kyrgios (AUS): The Australian reached the quarters in his home slam last year. Part of “generation next”, the 20-year-old has swagger and believes he belongs.

How the men's draw has panned out:

a) As much as Djokovic is the heavy favorite, he has a tricky opener against Hyeon Chung of South Korea. Chung, 19, has a good balance of power and shot making to make the Serb think.

b) Federer is in Djokovic’s half of the draw meaning they can only meet in the semifinals unlike the last two slams (Wimbledon and the US Open) where they met in the final. Federer also has a potential 3rd rounder against Grigor Dimitrov, the 27th seed who just made the final of Sydney.

c) Nadal is in Wawrinka’s quarter. Those two contested the 2014 final. Now, they might meet in the quarters in what is a tough draw for both players in a loaded section with Kevin Anderson, the big-serving 11th seed, and Raonic. Also, in this section is 23rd seed Viktor Troicki who won Sydney.

d) Lleyton Hewitt, the former world No. 1 and two-time slam champ chose his home slam to be the last tournament of his career. He starts against compatriot James Duckworth. And if he wins that, he might meet 8th seed David Ferrer of Spain in the following round which could be the last match of the Aussie’s illustrious career.

e) When Saketh Myneni lost in the 3rd round of qualifying, it meant that India’s singles hopes would solely rest on the shoulders of Yuki Bhambri. The 23-year-old from New Delhi, who made his Slam debut against Murray last year here in Melbourne, will take on Berdych in the 1st round on Monday. Berdych has a big serve and hits a flat ball which robs opponents of time to set up for shots. Bhambri needs a good 1st serve percentage and to mix things up by running around his backhand to play his favorite forehand and then finishing off points at the net. Doesn't sound so tough, eh?

Men’s Singles draw http://www.ausopen.com/en_AU/scores/draws/ms/msdraw.pdf

So who do you think is going to win the Australian Open? Share your thoughts. And stay tuned for the doubles preview.