#2 Serena Williams
Serena Williams had a moderate season last year. In spite of that, she managed to win a Grand Slam, was the runner-up at two other Slams and reached the semi-final of one. It is the incredible level of consistency and dominance that Williams has maintained throughout her career is what makes the tennis fraternity expect the highest from her.
This Australian Open, she has to answer a few underlying questions. She crashed out of Auckland at the start of this month. With Bencic being her first round opponent at the Australian Open, the world no. 2 is up for a tricky start.
The 35-year-old would look to go a step further from last year, thereby converting her runner’s up plate into the champion’s trophy. Her powerful game will be the key to dethroning the defending champion and if Williams manages to hold off the unforced errors, she will most certainly be crowned the queen of Melbourne for the 7th time.
She will be particularly motivated to get the job done as it would mean that she has the coveted 23rd Grand Slam title, which will enable her to rewrite the pages of tennis history once again!
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