MELBOURNE (Reuters) - Rafael Nadal swiped his top ranking and his Wimbledon crown, Andy Murray stole his thunder when a number of bookmakers installed him as favourite for the Australian Open, but Roger Federer is still the man to beat when the first grand slam of the year kicks off on Monday.
The Swiss, who taught Murray a lesson in the final of the U.S. Open in September 2008, is gunning for a record-equalling 14th grand slam singles crown in Australia and is exuding a confidence sufficient to chill the field.
"It comes down to playing well here, being fit and ready to go," the Swiss smiled on Sunday.
"I feel the way I was hoping to feel just before the Australian Open. So I'm excited."
Last year Federer's preparations were destroyed by glandular fever and no match practice -- this year things could hardly be more different after winning the Kooyong Classic warm-up this week.
Anyone caught misbehaving could be ejected for 24 hours, fined, banned from the venue or face serious criminal charges, they said.
"People that misbehave should understand there are consequences and it's most likely they will find themselves outside the arena," police superintendent John Cooke said.
Tournament director Craig Tiley added that organisers supported the police's actions in whatever they deemed necessary to remove the small minority of the fans that attended the tournament and caused trouble.
More than 1.1 million people had attended the event in the past two years, with problems rare, he said.
"We are confident that yet again the Australian Open will feature a fun and family friendly environment," Tiley said. (Writing by Greg Stutchbury; Editing by Peter Rutherford)
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Australian open 2009 the big bash from jan 19th
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