Aus Open 2010

The 2010 Australian Open could be one of the hottest tennis events on record and looking at how the top players are preparing for Melbourne is some indication of how they'll get on Down Under in a couple of weeks

Ana Ivanovic. Preparing for Aus with boyfriend Adam Scott. Currently based in QLD and is not finding the heat too bad. It has been 90/100 around where she is currently based, but has struggled with the humidity - which she won't get to the QLD degree in Melbourne

Novak Djokovic. have backed Nole at big prices so disappointed to see him spending Christmas in Italy where it is freezing cold

Jelena Jankovic - Spent Christmas and New Year in Miami which is obviously not too bad climate-wise, however it's still disappointing to see her arriving late in Australia once again - although not as late as last year

Vera Zvonareva - Spent Christmas in Florida training at IMG Academies. Will be very interesting to see how Vera is first up as she had a fantastic 2009. Interesting to also not that there is still plenty of attention being paid to her ankle right now

Sam Stosur - "Sam's preseason training consists of Swimming, Sand Dune running, Stairs/Hill sprints, Boxing/Kickboxing, Sprints using resistant bands/Parachutes, Core Strengthening using Bossu/Fitball, Strength sessions using weights/Straps/Kettle Bells/Vibroplate.

Hmm... this is either very good, or very bad - we heard plenty about players bottoming out before Melbourne last season and trhere's no doubt about it, Sammy is pushing the limits on the lead up to Melbourne 2010. The one thing in her favour though is that she is no idiot - on the contrary actually, and for that reason i'm edging towards putting her up as a player to follow over the upcoming weeks

Venus - as chilled out as ever. Palm Beach -> Asia -> Melbourne. No reason to feel she won't handle the conditions - but she has never done well in this event and the fact that she's changing nothing says quite a lot

Azarenka - Nearly landed the big one with Vika last year b4 she blew up against Serena in the fourth round. Not convinced about her abilities to handle the heat although she is preparing in Florida and also has a base in arizona. A player to watch out for as her price drifts like a barge

Further updates to follow...