Potential Slam on the line

There's a good chance that, if you're under 50 years old, you won't even know the last time a player won the tennis world's Grand Slam.

This feat was last achieved by Rod Laver way back in 1969. This was actually the second time he had accomplished this remarkable result having previously won the Slam in 1962.

One man stands on the brink of being the first to hold all four titles at the same time since then - Rafael Nadal.

The Spaniard currently holds the men's singles titles for the French Open, Wimbledon and the US Open and will clinch the fourth and final title if he is successful at the Australian Open at Melbourne Park, the final being held on January 30.

Of course, the debate will rage as to whether holding all four at the same time is the same as winning all four in the same calendar year, as was originally intended, in much the same manner that golfers discussed Tiger Woods holding all four Major's, although, again, not all were won in the same year of the Gregorian calendar.

Laver himself, has weighed in, denying that Rafael's achievement would be the same. Other former players of more recent eras believe holding all four titles consecutively in modern times would be far more remarkable than anything accomplished by the great man.

The argument is that the modern Slam is much tougher. In 1969, three of the titles were played on grass with the other on the French clay. Nowadays, the Australian and US Opens are played on a hard court, although these play vastly differently, with the current Australian surfaces generating a slower and higher bounce than their US counterparts.

The other part of this argument is that the modern game is much more powerful and physically demanding. Rafa's knees would surely agree - the last time he lost in a Grand Slam tournament was in Australia last year when he had to concede defeat in the middle of a match to Scotland's Andy Murray.

However, take nothing away from Laver. While he managed the Slam twice, the only other person to have succeeded was America's Don Budge back in 1938.

Ironically, Roger Federer, the holder of the record for most Open titles who stands in the way of Nadal, twice came close to holding all four titles in the same year. He was defeated both times, in 2006 and 2007, at the French Open, by Nadal.

Furthermore, the current holder of the Norman Brookes Challenge Cup (Australian Open title), is also Federer, although, should he fail to win, it will be the first time since 2003 that he has failed to hold a Grand Slam title.

Federer will not hand over this title lightly. He has recently appointed a new coach, Paul Annacone, which has reinvigorated his career resulting in four wins in his last five ATP tour events.

Despite his protestations to the contrary and Federer's four previous titles here, Nadal must enter the tournament as favourite.

The wet weather being experienced in Melbourne has probably played into his hands, in that only practice under the roof of Centre Court has been possible. This has been reserved for the tournaments' top seeds, enhancing their chance of successful progression.

While the leading men compare the size of their trophy cabinets, the No.1 women's seed, controversially, is yet to claim her first! Caroline Wozniacki has risen to the top of her profession as a result of remarkable consistency. Despite not having one of the four main trophies, she won six times on tour last year.

Missing will be last year's winner, Serena Williams, although her sister, Venus, will also be seeking to fill the void. Other challengers are expected to be second seed Vera Zvonareva and the Belgian duo of Justine Henin and Kim Clijsters.