By Sameer Kini
Sports Editor

This week, both national and WA sports have important games to watch. Here are my picks to see for this week.

(Inter)National – Austalian Open. This week for my “national” pick I decided to go international instead, as the finals of the tennis season’s first major will be this weekend. So far the tournament has been a good one, with many new young players emerging, especially on the men’s side. However, the major storyline coming into to the tournament was Rafael Nadal’s attempt to achieve what is being called the “Rafa Slam.” If Nadal is to win this Aussie Open, he will currently be holding all four Grand Slam men’s singles titles at one time. This would be the first time that was done since Rod Laver did it in 1969.

As for my picks, I expect Rafa to finish this feat with a win, despite a loaded men’s field still filled with the top players in the world, such as Federer, Djokovic, Murray, and Ferrer. For the women, I expect Kim Clijsters to take the title over #1 seeded Caroline Wozniacki in the finals, as if both of them make it, Clijsters will have far more experience in that situation.

WA – Wrestling. For WA sports this week, wrestling is my top pick to see. This week, wrestling will host Wayland high school at WA on Wednesday at 6. Wrestling looks to continue their solid season, and I expect seniors like Mike Mizzoni, John Cimini, Joe Barnas, and Mike McHugh to lead them to another win. Also on the slate this week for wrestling is the DCL tournament on Saturday, which starts at 8 AM. Look for Westford Academy to make their push for a DCL title, as they come in very experienced and looking strong. I expect a solid finish for them in the DCL, and hopefully they will be able to take the DCL title against rivals like LS.