We will also see the big events that are held in the Middle East get going with both the WTA and ATP Tours having stops in Qatar and Dubai over the next month. Those events have taken over the empty slot left over by the Indian Wells Masters tournament, but Miami is still going ahead with some fans in attendance and that should clear the way for the European clay court events in the lead up to the French Open which begins in late May.
The uncertainty does mean players will pick and choose their events in the lead to the Miami Masters, but that is always the case and some big names have been committed to tournaments over the next month. Both WTA events being played in Qatar and Dubai in back to back weeks look loaded with many of the top ten on the players list, while Roger Federer is also due to return to the courts in the coming weeks having committed to playing in the two ATP events scheduled to be played in Qatar and Dubai too.
There are some major Ranking points that are on offer before we go into the first Masters event of the 2021 season and ahead of the build up to the next Grand Slam of the season. It should motivate players who won't have to go through the same as they did in Australia and I think the vaccine rollout will certainly see the Tour restored to further normality the longer the year goes.
It is my hope that Wimbledon will have some fans able to attend too and I would certainly hope to be in a position where I could attend if tickets are re-released. That is something that will be clearer when the current United Kingdom lockdown plan develops over the coming weeks and months, but there is an all around more positive feel which has to be expanded to all aspects of our usual lives.
Naomi Osaka and Novak Djokovic won the Australian Open Women's and Men's titles respectively and I think it would be a bigger surprise if we don't see both in the Winner's enclosure again in a Grand Slam at some point in 2021.
The former looks to be the best hard court player in the world as far as the WTA goes, but Naomi Osaka will have something to prove when the Tour moves onto the clay and grass courts over the next several months, I would consider her to be amongst the favourites in terms of names, but that is the layers not taking chances and my personal Rankings will have Naomi Osaka some way down at both the French Open and Wimbledon.
She could change my mind with strong runs in the lead up events and benefiting from a kind draw, but I think Osaka will be a strong favourite at the US Open rather than at the next two Slams. That will open the door for other players to take home big titles and I do think the Women's draws have a sense of fascination about them being as open as they are.
It is not really the case in the Men's side of the draw despite the obvious improvements some of the younger players have made. At the moment you would have to say Novak Djokovic is favourite to win at Wimbledon and the US Open, while Rafael Nadal can win another French Open and will be hard to oppose, and that only raises thoughts about which of the 'Big Three' will go down as the Greatest of All Time.
At this stage I would be surprised if Roger Federer finishes with the most Grand Slams on the Men's side and I do think both Djokovic and Nadal won't just be targeting an ending to their career with the most Men's Singles Grand Slam titles, but will also believe they can overtake Margaret Court for the overall record.
Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer are both on 20 Grand Slam titles and Novak Djokovic is trailing them by two at 18, but both the Spaniard and the World Number 1 will feel they have more left in the tank. Both are looking more than capable of being at the business end of every Slam they play in at the moment and even the improvement shown by the likes of Dominic Thiem, Stefanos Tsitsipas and Daniil Medvedev hasn't quite closed the gap.
In a best of five set match both Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal will feel very good about their chances of beating those youngsters that are leading the new challengers and it honestly would not be a surprise if the end of 2021 sees Nadal moving to 21 Grand Slam titles and Djokovic holding 20.
I can only imagine what may have been for the 'Big Three' if they had played in an era without the other two, but I also think Men's Tennis has become such an attraction because of the battles between the top names. They may easily go down as the top three Men's players of all time even if they were to end their careers today, but the worry for the next crop of stars is the motivation, the fire and, most importantly, the quality of the Big Three has shown little sign of slippage.
There is no doubting how much I have enjoyed the return of Tennis with three Grand Slams played over the last six months, but the Australian Open was a more joyous occasion if only because we finally had some fans back in attendance.
The less said about the spectator who decided she would swear at Rafael Nadal the better, but the crowd for the Dominic Thiem win over Nicolas Kyrgios really added to the match. My only regret is that the fans were not able to witness Stefanos Tsitsipas' comeback against Nadal in the Quarter Final with the last four days not as topsy-turvy as some of those last eight matches were.
Ashleigh Barty could have done with the support in her own Quarter Final defeat, but it is encouraging to see fans back and I am looking forward to a time when fuller crowds will return.
It wasn't quite the tournament I would have wanted for the Tennis Picks, but Novak Djokovic's title win at least meant the Outright Picks returned a profit. The daily Picks were less successful at the end, but the Australian Open and US Opens tend to be my weaker events.
That's no excuse and the focus over the next month is getting this season back into the black after a relatively slow start. Last season we didn't have the same kind of clay court season as a normal Tour season brings, but I am looking forward to having some momentum to go into that part of the year.
The Tuesday Tennis Picks could have had a better start with one close defeat, one winner and one comfortable loss. It is early in a new week though and I have time to get things turned around, although I am also looking at making some small adjustments to get back to some consistency.
MY PICKS: Soon Woo Kwon - 3.5 Games @ 2.00 Bet Fred (2 Units)
Sebastian Korda - 2.5 Games @ 2.00 Paddy Power (2 Units)
Jannik Sinner - 3.5 Games @ 1.66 Bet365 (2 Units)
Season 2021: - 7.80 Units (195.5 Units Staked, - 3.99% Yield)
Weekly Update: 1-2, - 2.34 Units (6 Units Staked, - 39% Yield)
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