A new tennis season starts Jan. 15 with the 2018 Australian Open in Melbourne. The Open will surely provide plenty of interesting storylines and matchups, with the top competitors ready to start the year on the right foot.
The men's draw features defending champ Roger Federer, 2017 runner-up Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic and Stan Wawrinka. The women's draw features 2017 runner-up Venus Williams, Maria Sharapova, Simona Halep, Petra Kvitova, and Karolina Pliskova.
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However, the women's defending champion Serena Williams will not participate in the Aussie Open this year after announcing her decision to withdraw as she prepares for her return to tennis after giving birth to her daughter. Meanwhile, Andy Murray is out with a lingering hip injury.
In the 2017 Australian Open, it was a case of the old heads going the distance as both Federer and Nadal — two of tennis' greatest ever — overpowered younger, hungry competitors to compete in the tournament final.
In the end, it was a five-set thriller between the two giants that lasted an incredible 3 hours and 38 minutes, with technology deciding the game as Federer hit a forehand winner down the line that resulted in a Nadal challenge. Upon hawk-eye review, the call was upheld and Federer won.
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In the women's draw, the Williams sisters (Serena and Venus) faced off in the final with Serena, who was pregnant at the time , prevailing in straight sets to win her seventh Australian Open and her 23rd career grand slam.
Here is all the information you need to watch the 2018 Australian Open, including TV schedule and important dates.
When is the Australian Open?
The 2018 Australian Open will started on Monday, Jan. 15, and runs for 14 days with the women's final played on Jan. 27 and the men's final on the Jan. 28.
How to watch on TV, live stream online
ESPN has full coverage of each day of the Australian Open. The men's and women's finals will be shown on ESPN, but every other day of the tournament is shown on ESPN2.
The Australian Open website also offers live feeds of the matches via AO TV Live , the tournament's own streaming service with features, highlights and post-game interviews.
2018 Australian Open schedule
Here's the complete Australian Open schedule , including dates, times and TV channels.
All times Eastern.
| Jan. 17 — Second round, 9 p.m. ESPN2 |
| Jan. 18 — Second round, 9 p.m. ESPN2 |
| Jan. 19 — Third round, 11 p.m. ESPN2 |
| Jan. 20 — Third round, 9 p.m. ESPN2 |
| Jan. 21 — Round of 16, 9 p.m. ESPN2 |
| Jan. 22 — Round of 16, 9 p.m. ESPN2 |
| Jan. 23 — Quarterfinals, 9 p.m. ESPN2 |
| Jan. 24 — Quarterfinals, 3 a.m. ESPN2 |
| Jan. 24 — Quarterfinals, 9 p.m. ESPN2 |
| Jan. 25 — Quarterfinals, 3 a.m. ESPN 2 |
| Jan. 25 — Women's Semifinal, 9:30 p.m. ESPN2 |
| Jan. 26 — Men's Semifinal, 3:30 a.m. ESPN2 |
| Jan. 27 — Men's Semifinal, 3:30 a.m. ESPN2 |
| Jan. 28 — Women's Final, 3 a.m. ESPN |
| Jan. 29 — Men's Final, 3 a.m. ESPN |
Odds to win 2018 Australian Open
Here are the pre-tournament odds to win the 2018 Australian Open, according to VegasInsider.com as of Jan. 8. Federer, the 2017 Aussie Open champ, is the favorite to win the men's singles title again in 2018. With reigning champ Serena Williams out, Karolina Pliskova is the favorite to win the women's singles title. Pliskova lost to Mirjana Lučić-Baroni in the quarterfinals at Melbourne last year.
Men's singles
| Roger Federer 9/5 |
| Rafael Nadal 9/2 |
| Novak Djokovic 9/2 |
| Grigor Dimitrov 8/1 |
| Alexander Zverev 10/1 |
| Juan Martin del Potro 14/1 |
| David Goffin 16/1 |
| Nick Kyrgios 16/1 |
| Stan Wawrinka 20/1 |
| Dominic Thiem 22/1 |
| Milos Raonic 25/1 |
| Marin Cilic 25/1 |
| Denis Shapovalov 50/1 |
| Jack Sock 50/1 |
| Kevin Anderson 66/1 |
| Jo-Wilfred Tsonga 80/1 |
| Tomas Berdych 80/1 |
| Andrey Rublev 80/1 |
| Gael Monfils 80/1 |
| Lucas Pouille 100/1 |
| Roberto Bautista-Agut 80/1 |
| Sam Querrey 125/1 |
| Richard Gasquet 125/1 |
| Alex De Minaur 150/1 |
| Stefanos Tsitsipas 150/1 |
| Pablo Carreno-Busta 125/1 |
| John Isner 150/1 |
| Gilles Simon 150/1 |
| David Ferrer 200/1 |
| Hyeon Chung 200/1 |
| Borna Coric 200/1 |
| Kyle Edmund 200/1 |
| Diego Schwartzman 200/1 |
| Steve Johnson 200/1 |
| Corentin Moutet 250/1 |
| Thanasi Kokkinakis 250/1 |
| Julien Benneteau 250/1 |
| Feliciano Lopez 250/1 |
| Fabio Fognini 250/1 |
| Gilles Muller 250/1 |
| Alexandr Dolgopolov 250/1 |
| Frances Tiafoe 250/1 |
| Benoit Paire 250/1 |
| Ryan Harrison 300/1 |
| Jared Donaldson 300/1 |
| Donald Young 300/1 |
| Fernando Verdasco 300/1 |
| Tennys Sandgren 300/1 |
| Albert Ramos-Vinolas 300/1 |
| Philipp Kohlschreiber 300/1 |
Women's singles
| Karolina Pliskova 6/1 |
| Garbine Muguruza 13/2 |
| Simona Halep 8/1 |
| Elina Svitolina 9/1 |
| Maria Sharapova 10/1 |
| Caroline Wozniacki 10/1 |
| Angelique Kerber 14/1 |
| Johanna Konta 14/1 |
| Petra Kvitova 14/1 |
| Madison Keys 18/1 |
| Coco Vandeweghe 20/1 |
| Caroline Garcia 20/1 |
| Julia Goerges 20/1 |
| Venus Williams 22/1 |
| Jelena Ostapenko 22/1 |
| Sloane Stephens 22/1 |
| Ashleigh Barty 25/1 |
| Belinda Bencic 25/1 |
| Victoria Azarenka 25/1 |
| Dominika Cibulkova 33/1 |
| Agnieszka Radwanska 40/1 |
| Aryna Sabalenka 50/1 |
| Kaia Kanepi 50/1 |
| Aliaksandra Sasnovich 50/1 |
| Katerina Siniakova 50/1 |
| Naomi Osaka 50/1 |
| Magdalena Rybarikova 66/1 |
| Daria Kasatkina 66/1 |
| Anastasija Sevastova 66/1 |
| Daria Gavrilova 80/1 |
| Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova 80/1 |
| Ekaterina Makarova 80/1 |
| Natalia Vikhlyantseva 80/1 |
| Ana Konjuh 100/1 |
| Eugenie Bouchard 100/1 |
| Kristina Mladenovic 100/1 |
| Marketa Vondrousova 100/1 |
| Elena Vesnina 125/1 |
| Sam Stosur 150/1 |
| Heather Watson 150/1 |
| Barbora Strycova 150/1 |
| Monica Puig 150/1 |
| Lauren Davis 200/1 |
| Shelby Rogers 200/1 |
| Catherine Bellis 200/1 |
| Varvara Lepchenko 200/1 |
| Christina McHale 200/1 |
| Jennifer Brady 200/1 |
| Madison Brengle 200/1 |
| Taylor Townsend 300/1 |