In Pics | Five key men's and women's talents to look out for in the Australian Open

Australian Open is just around the corner. As the year's first Grand Slam is set to begin on January 10 amid the Covid-19 pandemic, big guns and upcoming talents will be eager to leave their mark and begin the season on the best possible note. Here are the five male and five female players to watch out for in the tournament.

World number One Novak Djokovic has a chance of ending 2021 as the most successful men's Grand Slam player in history, and has grown used to starting his year with a bang at his favourite major. Credit: AFP Photo

Victory this week would take Rafael Nadal, 34, past Federer on the men's all-time Grand Slam titles list, a task that has been eased by the Swiss's withdrawal through injury. Credit: Reuters photo.

A first Grand Slam victory had long looked inevitable for the 27-year-old Dominic Thiem, who led Djokovic two sets to one in last year's Australian final before the Serb fought back to win in five. Credit: Reuters photo.

Daniil Medvedev, who had a tour-leading 59 victories in 2019, has won all nine of his career titles on hardcourts, and will now want to improve on his fourth-round showings on his last two visits to Melbourne Park. Credit: Reuters photo.

Reaching a first Grand Slam final at the US Open was a big step forward for Alexander Zverev, but the German will have a bigger prize in his sights in Melbourne. Credit: AFP photo.

An aging Serena Williams aims for a 24th Grand Slam title, four years after her last, faced with an ever-growing coterie of young talent taking over at the top of the game. Credit: Reuters photo.

Japan's Naomi Osaka picked up her third Grand Slam at the 2020 US Open, coming from a set and a break down to beat Victoria Azarenka in the final, and won widespread praise for her passionate support of the Black Lives Matters movement. Credit: AP Photo.

Despite hardly swinging a racquet for the best part of a coronavirus-ravaged year, world number one Ash Barty still managed to make sporting headlines in 2020. Credit: AP Photo.

Defending champion Kenin did not come into the Melbourne warm-up week completely cold, having reached the quarter-finals in Abu Dhabi last month where she lost to Greece's Maria Sakkari.Credit: AFP Photo.

World number two Simona Halep would dearly love to add an Australian Open, having come agonisingly close three years ago when losing an epic final 8-6 in the third set to Caroline Wozniacki. Credit: AFP photo.