Last year, tennis fans witnessed another brilliant season from Roger Federer, the emergence of three young stars from Serbia, and the first Davis Cup title for America in 12 years. They also endured a gambling scandal — three players have been suspended so far for minor offenses and the sport continues to investigate a match involving Nikolay Davydenko, the world’s no. 4 player, as well as the embarrassing exit of a great champion — Martina Hingis, KO’d by a positive test for cocaine that was confirmed last week. What will 2008 bring? Here’s what I expect for the coming year in tennis.

FOURTEEN AND COUNTING Roger Federer ought to tie Pete Sampras’s record of 14 major titles this season (he currently has 12). But will he win his first French Open title? Federer continues to say that winning in Paris is not a priority; he recently said he wouldn’t trade a Wimbledon title for a win at Roland Garros. The good news, though, is that he continues to talk about playing the net more, especially on clay. At the season-ending Masters Cup in Shanghai, he found another level — scary thought, but true. Can he play even better? We’ll find out. He also has his eye on a gold medal in Beijing (another title that has eluded him) and a new coach — he’ll likely hire one soon.

ONE-SLAM WONDER? Rafael Nadal is already the best player in tennis history never to attain the no. 1 ranking. Is this the year he wins a major title outside of Paris? Nadal played well enough to win Wimbledon last year and nearly did: He’ll have a good chance there, and also at the Australian Open, which begins next Monday. SOPHOMORE SLUMP? This won’t be Novak Djokovic’s second year on the tour, but last year was his first as a top-five player. Can he sustain it? He faded at the end of the year and played terribly at the Masters Cup. Worse still, he played without patience, as if he shouldn’t have to work that hard to win matches. No doubt he’ll return to his previous form and eventually improve, but the question is, when?

THE SISTERS WILLIAMS They are playing doubles in Australia, as they did at Wimbledon last year. As always, anything is possible.

MOM ON THE LOOSE! Less than a year after giving birth to her first child, Lindsay Davenport has won three of four titles and posted an 18–1 record. Seems like forever since Davenport talked about retirement and said she wasn’t very interested in tennis. She now says she would like to play next season, too. Maybe, just maybe, a fourth major title is in the cards. Australia might be her best chance.

LADY SERBS Lots have talked (and justly so) about Jelena Jankovic and Ana Ivanovic last season. When will one of them win a major title? Jankovic is a fantastic athlete but has no serve and a forehand that’s not enough of a weapon. Ivanovic excels at all strokes, but she’s not terribly fast or quick. Combine them and you have a great player. We’ll get a better idea if either one of them can be great on her own. Jankovic heads into Australia with a hamstring injury that could ruin her chances there.

COMEBACK PLAYERS OF THE YEAR David Nalbandian and Sesil Karatantcheva. Nalbandian played some of the best tennis of the season at the end of 2007. He’s the best player among the men to not win a major title. If he’s motivated he can beat anyone, including Federer, on any surface. Karatantcheva was ranked no. 35 in the world two years ago, when she was suspended for two years for taking steroids (she also became pregnant and lost her child). She’s only 17, and extremely talented. She begins her second life on the tour at a small tournament in Surprise, Ariz., while the Australian Open takes place in Melbourne.

NEW FACES Keep an eye out for these youngsters as the year progresses. Ernests Gulbis: The rangy, hard-serving 19-year-old from Latvia jumped from no. 140 to no. 61 in the rankings last year. Marin Cilic: He’s 6 feet, 5 inches, 19 years old, and improving. Juan Martin Del Potro: The 6-foot-5-inch Argentine can’t run too well, but he slugs the ball (he’s also 19). Tamira Paszek: This 17-year-old Austrian should be inside the top 20 in short order. Agnes Szavay: The 19-year-old Hungarian might already be tough enough to win a major title, if the right circumstances arise. Agnieszka Radwanska: Learn how to spell the name of this 18-year-old from Poland. Last year’s U.S. Open victory over Maria Sharapova was no fluke.

LEAVING SO SOON? Marcos Baghdatis played the final of the Australian Open two years ago. As 2008 begins, he is ranked no. 16 in the world. Either he motivates himself to improve this year, or he could fall off the map. Another candidate for an early departure: Gael Monfils, the talented underachiever from France.

THE ANDY WARS Which Andy, Roddick or Murray, will have a better ranking when the season ends?

GAMBLING Blame the Italians! So far, the ATP Tour’s gambling investigation has led to three suspensions, all of them Italian men. None were accused of match fixing, but betting — in some cases as little as $7 — on other matches. The Italian Tennis Federation has scoffed at the penalties, saying its players were unjustly penalized and used as scapegoats. Don’t be surprised if the Italians receive more injustice before the year is out. That’s more likely than the tour coming up with the goods on Davydenko.

DAVIS CUP Team Argentina has been stacked for years. This year, they have a favorable draw and their best player, Nalbandian, is playing well again. It would be their first title.

Mr. Perrotta is a senior editor at Tennis Magazine. He can be reached by e-mail at tperrotta@tennismagazine.com.