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Need a quick brush-up on who to watch before the world’s attention turns to Melbourne Park for the first grand slam of the year?

Well, here’s a quick rundown before the first ball is served on Monday.

CLICK HERE FOR A PRINTABLE PDF VERSION OF THE ENTIRE DRAW

WHO ARE THE FAVOURITES?
WOMEN

The usual suspects. Hard to go past either Serena Williams (although she was patchy at the Hopman Cup in Perth) or Maria Sharapova — fresh from victory in Brisbane — on the women’s side of the draw.

MEN

Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal still look a cut above their rivals but perhaps Federer enters the tournament with the best form, fresh from a win in Brisbane. Defending men’s champ Stan Wawrinka doesn’t look to be firing on all cylinders despite still being ranked No.4 in the world.

The Amelie Mauresmo-coached Andy Murray, now No.6 in the world, is an interesting one. He’s certainly capable of winning it but only if he produces his best — something he wasn’t able to do on a consistent basis in an interrupted 2014.

WHO MIGHT SURPRISE?
WOMEN

The Australian Open has often proved a launching pad for young careers.

Last year Eugenie Bouchard surged through the draw, with the support of the ‘Genie Army’, all the way to a semi-final berth. Now, with a top-10 ranking, she’s a genuine contender along with players like Petra Kvitova (who has won a major), Agnieszka Radwanska and Caroline Wozniacki, all of whom could upstage the big two.

What of Victoria Azarenka, you ask? She’s now ranked 41 in the world — and therefore unseeded — after an injury-plagued finish to 2014 and an early exit from the Brisbane International. The positives are she’s one of the few players in the women’s draw to have won a major. But she’ll have to do it the hard way if she is to go deep into the draw.

MEN

Names like Baghdatis, Gonzalez, Tsonga and Dolgopolov have made big runs in past years. Last year Wawrinka went all the way to his first major crown.

This year a few young guns are emerging as the new wave of men’s tennis.

Japan’s Kei Nishikori (world No.5) seems to be the flavour of the month but as yet hasn’t achieved the ultimate success in a big tournament.

Big-serving Canadian Milos Raonic always poses a threat while Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov plays an exciting brand of tennis.

The big-hitting Tomas Berdych is always around the mark and seems to be getting closer to a breakthrough major.

WHAT CAN WE EXPECT FROM THE AUSSIES?
Probably the usual. That being, there’ll likely be the odd plucky win early in week 1 and the nation will hope Sam Stosur or an emerging star can ride the emotion and a favourable draw through to week 2.

Stosur (No.20) remains our highest-ranked singles player in the world, but we’ve learned from recent home campaigns not to get our hopes up with Sammy.

Casey Dellacqua has risen to 29 in the world on the back of a strong second half to 2014, while Jarmila Gajdosova has impressed in Sydney.

n the men, Nick Kyrgios (50) heads a talented young crop although he hasn’t seemed overly confident about his chances after an interrupted lead-up and injury concerns following his first-up loss in Sydney.

Lleyton Hewitt just keeps on keeping on. The question will again be asked following this year’s tournament: Is that it for Lleyton? He’ll no doubt again provide an excellent addition to the Channel 7 commentary team when his on-court commitments end.

Bernard Tomic — who has reunited with his father John — is back and will no doubt provide a storyline. It’s also worth keeping an eye on big-serving Sam Groth, who’s been on an upward curve in recent months.

WHAT’S NEW IN 2015?
Margaret Court Arena (MCA) has a roof! MCA was used last year but with a retractable roof being added — bringing the number of fully-enclosed stadiums at Melbourne Park to three — tournament organisers believe the Open could still be completed if extreme weather prevented play for extended periods.

All courts at Melbourne Park also feature new scoreboards and screens this year. Let’s hope no racquets go flying in their direction.

FUN FACTS
— Prizemoney is at a record $40 million in 2015. Winners of the men’s and women’s singles will each receive $3.1 million. And don’t go feeling too sorry for the first-round losers. He/She will still pocket a cool $34,500.

— Wilson supplies more than 4000 tennis balls for the tournament. For those interested, used balls are actually sold on site.

— Fans at this year’s Open are expected to eat more than 150,000 ice-creams. But hey, who’s counting?