The second week of the 2009 Australian Open in Melbourne will feature a return match between Mats Wilander and Pat Cash. A re-enactment of the 1988 final when Wilander prevailed after an epic 5 set match to defeat Pat Cash and to thwart Cash’s chances of winning the coveted title in front of his home-town fans. As Cash said jokingly, “I hate him more now than ever, I just wait to get even with him,” to which Mats replied, “It was one of my greatest moments in tennis, and I can’t wait to feel that excitement again.”

Joining Pat and Mats is an array of Australian old timers plus a few hangers on who pop up to play whenever they smell a tennis ball. The ‘Woodies’ Todd Woodbridge and Mark Woodforde, who together formed one of the most formidable doubles teams to ever play the game will be on hand, Todd is the organizer of the Legends event. Also competing on the True Blue courts of Melbourne park, and included in the $29 grounds pass will be Wayne Arthurs, Wally Masur, John Fitzgerald, Peter McNamara, Paul McNamee, Mansour Bahrami, Wayne Ferriera and Joachim Nystrom.

The Australian open director is set upon making the 2009 event a festival of tennis and an entertaining two weeks for both tennis fans and all visitors. A series of concerts is planned, one featuring the spectacular Spiegelworld performance. The who’s who of Australian music will be providing nightly entertainment, and could easily outdraw some of the mediocre tennis matches served up by the lesser known players.

A new store has opened that will sell an array of merchandise featuring the Australian open 2009 logo. T- shirts and tennis shirts are available plus some other rather peculiar items, an Aussie Open oven mitt for $15, or an Aussie Open paper fan for $10. I can’t wait to get mine!

The tournament director is hyping a replay of the Federer/Nadal Wimbledon final, and it is a reasonable prediction that the world’s number 1 and 2 players could meet in the final. I don’t expect either one of them to reach the final, there are too many young eager players to beat just to make it through to the final pair. A lucky draw for any of the top 10 players could hold the secret to their individual success in Australia, where the temperature on court can easily soar to 100 degrees. Playing back to back 5 set matches could spoil the chance to win for both Rafael Nadal and Federer.

Maria Sharapova‘s return to defend her title is also being hyped by the management for good reason. The lady’s tour is mired in mediocrity and the game needs Maria or a healthy Serena to lift it back to its former high quality status. My money is on Maria to come storming back in great form, and to win the title without losing a set. I wonder what the odds are for her to win? Instead of buying a paper fan, maybe I should bet my $10 on Maria!