The dawn of the 2008 tennis season brings with it a great deal of anticipation as fans across the globe anxiously await the next 11 months to unfold.

Given their recent track records, it is safe to predict that Roger Federer and Justine Henin will once again be the dominant forces of their sport, but let’s go out on a limb and say that it is going to get crowded at the top for the perennial World No.1 spot.

While the Swiss Master and feisty Belgian are destined to win their fair share of tournaments, even Grand Slams in 2008, the trophies that have eluded them in the past could prove all the more difficult to claim.

'Federer is still more likely to capture multiple Grand Slams in 2008 than to come home empty-handed'


The clay courts of Roland Garros have not been kind to Federer throughout his career and to make matters worse, his arch rival Rafael Nadal has enjoyed virtual invincibility on the ‘terre battue’, maintaining an unblemished record at the French Open, making Federer's quest to complete the Grand Slam a rather daunting task.

In addition, Federer’s road to becoming the greatest of all time promises to have its share of obstacles this season with the Fed Express potentially being severely tested on all surfaces at all of tennis’s most storied venues.

Nadal, Novak Djokovic, Andy Roddick, David Ferrer, Richard Gasquet and Andy Murray are the most likely candidates to bring Federer back down to earth, or at least make tennis’s king somewhat uncomfortable on his throne. However, don’t be surprised if Federer brings up his game yet another notch in the face of more worthy opponents. After all, he is still more likely to capture multiple Grand Slams in 2008 than to come home empty-handed.

The Sony Ericsson WTA Tour is in desperate need of a shot in the arm and 2008 may just be the year to get it. After Henin stole the show last year, putting together the kind of season that legends are made of, a number of players are poised to steal Ju-Ju’s thunder come January.

If women’s tennis does have one luxury, it is fierce competition at the upper echelons of the game. There isn’t much separating the top 20 players in the rankings, a trend that is sure to make for exciting matches and the birth of new, compelling rivalries.

Henin is missing one coveted piece of hardware in her collection and will need to be at her very best to finally claim supremacy at Wimbledon. The Tour is fortunate to have the most powerful female sports figure in the world at its disposal in Maria Sharapova, who, after much speculation, is due for a breakout season to silence her critics once and for all.

The Russian superstar seems to be at her best against Henin, besting her in the 2006 U.S. Open final and stretching her to the limit in Madrid several weeks ago.

Given her success on the lawns of the All-England Club, Sharapova is likely the most formidable foe for Henin as she too attempts to complete the career slam this spring - could Henin-Sharapova be the next rivalry to grab headlines in women’s tennis?

In fact, there are many hard-hitting players who have the arsenal of weapons to make life difficult for the Belgian wonder. Among them is a trio of powerful American veterans in Lindsay Davenport, Serena Williams and Venus Williams.

Then there is the next generation stars on the cusp of brilliance including the personable Serbian pair of Ana Ivanovic and Jelena Jankovic as well as upstart title holders Nicole Vaidisova, Tatiana Golovin and Anna Chakvetadze. If the best of women’s tennis come to play, 2008 has the makings of a memorable campaign that will put the sport back on the professional athletic map.

The Olympic Games in Beijing will add an exciting twist to the 2008 calendar. It will provide an opportunity for tennis to showcase its phenomenal athletes to a worldwide audience and demonstrate just what a global game it has become, not only as a lucrative individual sport, but more importantly as a ground-breaking industry leader in the continuing fight for gender equality.