The Swiss world number one, who has dominated men's tennis for three years, kicks off his title defence against German 83rd-ranked Bjorn Phau on Monday.

Only eight players in the Open Era (post-1969) have successfully defended their Australian Open crown, the last time by Andre Agassi in 2001.

Federer suffered a rare defeat by Andy Roddick in Saturday's final of the Kooyong Classic tournament here, but the American put it into perspective when he said he would gladly swap the Kooyong trophy for the Australian Open title.

The Swiss maestro is chasing his 10th career Grand Slam triumph over the next fortnight and if he reaches the January 28 final it will be his seventh consecutive major final since 2005 Wimbledon.

"It's going to be hard to repeat last year's season. I mean, I had a great last few years," Federer said Sunday.

"I just hope to keep it up, stay healthy. That's really what my secret has been, as well, staying healthy, not being injured too much, having a good schedule.

"Obviously, I've carried the confidence for quite some time now. Every time I had a setback, I bounced back very strong.

"Now the first slam is around the corner. Hope I can do well here."

If Federer, is, as expected, going to play in the final, that doesn't bode well for the chances of Roddick, 2005 champion Marat Safin and last year's finalist Marcos Baghdatis, who are all in the same half of the draw.

World number two Rafael Nadal is the man considered the best chance to topple Federer.

The 20-year-old Spaniard, who downed Federer in four finals last year, says he has recovered from a right thigh injury that forced him out of last week's Sydney International.

"I just try to play my best tennis here. But to play Federer, it's always the same. I need be in the final," Nadal said.

"To win the final, I need to play very good tennis. I'm just thinking about the first round right now. If I win the first, we will see the second."

American power-server Roddick, now with Jimmy Connors, has struggled in Melbourne, often rolling through the early rounds before coming undone in the second week.

"There's a difference in my game since working with Jimmy," Roddick said. "I'm playing more aggressively now. Hopefully, I'll have a successful run here this year."

Baghdatis captivated last year's Open when, ranked 54, he knocked over top-10 players in Roddick, Ivan Ljubicic and Nalbandian to reach the final where he went down in four sets to Federer.

"The final changed a lot of things for me. It made me more famous," Baghdatis said.

"You go on the court, everybody wants to beat you. It's tougher now. They know your game more."

In the women's side, Kim Clijsters has emerged as the form player with Maria Sharapova and Amelie Mauresmo snapping at her heels.

The Belgian, who retires at the end of the year, has won the Champions Challenge in Hong Kong and the Sydney International in the lead-up to the Australian Open, signalling her intentions to go out with a bang.

"I'm very happy with the way that I played. What I'm more happy with is that I didn't start the (Sydney) tournament off playing great, but I still felt like I was improving compared to Hong Kong," she said.

"I'm very focused on trying to win."

The no-show of world number one Justine Henin-Hardenne, reportedly due to marital problems, has removed one key obstacle to Clijsters winning her first ever Australian Open, but plenty more remain.

Defending champion Mauresmo shed her tag as the best player not to claim a major by winning here last year when Henin-Hardenne walked off centre court with a stomach complaint midway through the final.

The Frenchwoman went on to win Wimbledon and now she has savoured Grand Slam success, she wants more.

"I think once you've tasted it, you want more. It is really what drives you -- the emotions that you feel in these moments," she said.

"I don't know what will happen this year or next year but I want to try again and win these big titles."

As well as Henin-Hardenne, the tournament has been deprived of stalwart Lindsay Davenport, who is pregnant.

Davenport is 30 and said last month that "I can't imagine playing again".

Former world No.1 Venus Williams will also be missing, with a left wrist injury forcing her to withdraw on Wednesday.

But sister Serena, who has plummeted to 94 in the rankings after an injury-plagued 2006, is raring to go and believes she can regain the form that led her to seven Grand Slam titles, including the Australian Open in 2003 and 2005.

Martina Hingis, who shocked the tennis world by making a comeback to the professional game in Australia last year after being out for three years with injury, should not be ruled out of adding to her three Australian titles.