The Big Four back on court as 2019 season kicks off this week

HIGHLIGHTS: Roger Federer d. Cameron Norrie, 6-1, 6-1

The ‘Big Four’—Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray—are all among an absolutely jam-packed line-up of ATP World Tour stars kicking off the 2019 season this week.

Two of the four, Nadal and Murray, will be playing at the Brisbane International in Brisbane, Australia.

Nadal, currently ranked No. 2, will be playing his first ATP tournament since retiring against Juan Martin del Potro in the semifinals of the US Open due to a knee injury. He’s struggled with abdominal and ankle injuries since then, as well—in fact, he had surgery on his ankle during the off-season.

“I am making a lot of steps forward since the surgery on the foot,” Nadal said during an exclusive interview with CNN a week ago. “I started practicing tennis one week earlier, and in higher intensity than we had thought. It was a little bit of a risk that we don’t make it into the beginning of the season, but here we are, practicing more or less hard, and we are excited to start the new season.”

Murray, who was ranked No. 1 less than a year and a half ago, is currently down at No. 256 after major hip injury struggles—he didn’t play after Wimbledon in 2017 and contested just 12 matches in 2018.

Brisbane is a happy hunting ground for the Brit, though—he’s won the event both times he’s played it, in 2012 (beating Alexandr Dolgopolov in the final) and 2013 (beating Grigor Dimitrov in the final).

“I still have some pain in my hip but I need to play matches and see how it feels when I am able to play three, four, five matches in a row, and take it from there,” Murray told Sky Sports earlier this week. “Last year when I came here it was tough. I was struggling quite a lot. It definitely feels a bit better than it did coming here last year. I’m in a better place than I was a few months ago.”

Djokovic, fresh off his fifth career year-end No. 1 finish, will headline the Qatar ExxonMobil Open in Doha, Qatar. He’s won the 250-level event the last two times he’s played it, in 2016 and 2017.

“This past season taught me a lot about myself,” he told The National ahead of playing an exhibition event in Abu Dhabi this week. “I had to dig deep in every sense to switch the tables in my favor in terms of tennis. I had to understand my game from every aspect to get to where I am at the moment.

“Hopefully I can carry the confidence I had from the past six months into the beginning of 2019.”

Federer, who spent time at No. 1 in 2018 but finished the year at No. 3, will play the Hopman Cup for the third straight year—and he’s hoping it propels him to his third straight Australian Open title.

“I hope that again it will be the start of a great season for me,” Federer said. “The Hopman Cup is a good place for me to start the season, and I’m hopeful that’s going to be the same again this year.”

Meanwhile, Kevin Anderson—runner-up to Djokovic at Wimbledon—will headline the Tata Open Maharashtra, a 250-level event in Pune, India. The world No. 6 will be the top seed.

**Hopman Cup (Sat - Sat 12.29 - 1.5)

•    Roger Federer, Alexander Zverev, Serena Williams and Angelique Kerber headline the Hopman Cup. Watch live coverage on Tennis Channel Plus beginning Saturday 12/29 at 9:00pm ET.**

**ATP/WTA Brisbane (Sun - Sun 12.30 - 1.6)

•    Rafael Nadal, Andy Murray, Naomi Osaka and Sloane Stephens open their 2019 seasons in Brisbane. Live coverage from three courts begins on Tennis Channel Plus on Sunday 12/30 at 8:00pm ET.**

**WTA Auckland (Sun - Sun 12.30 - 1.6)

•    Catch the action from the ASB Classic including Venus Williams and Caroline Wozniacki. Live coverage begins on Tennis Channel Plus on Sunday 12/30 at 8:00pm ET.**

**WTA Shenzhen (Sat - Sat 12.29 - 1.5)

•    Watch first to last ball action from the Shenzhen Open featuring Maria Sharapova and Jelena Ostapenko beginning Saturday 12/29 at 11:00pm ET.**

**ATP Pune (Mon - Sat 12.31 - 1.5)

•    Watch Kevin Anderson, Marin Cilic and Hyeon Chung live from Pune starting Monday 12/31 at 6:30am ET.**