Stars in flux as season starts
PERTH: As the new tennis season gets under way this weekend, several top players are in flux with questions over their form and fitness. AFP Sport looks at the varying fortunes of seven big names.
American great Serena Williams is attempting one of the great comebacks in sport as she returns to the court just four months after becoming a mother.
Serena, who welcomed her first child, Alexis Olympia, in September, will play an exhibition match in Abu Dhabi today against French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko.
Serena, who hasn’t played since she won the Australian Open 11 months ago — while pregnant — is expected to defend her title in Melbourne next month.
Russia’s Maria Sharapova will look for a strong start to her season at the Shenzhen Open after a mixed return to the circuit in April following a 15-month drugs ban.
The five-time major-winner, one of the highest earners in women’s sport, suffered a string of early defeats before she broke through to win the Tianjin Open in October — her first title since 2015.
Next month, Maria will play her first Australian Open since 2016 after improving her ranking to 59th. Her best Grand Slam performance of 2017 was reaching the last 16 at the US Open.
Defying all expectations, Rafael Nadal brilliantly revived his glory days in 2017, winning his 10th French Open and third US Open title, and finishing the season as world number one.
But familiar injury doubts have made for an uncertain start to the new campaign as Nadal, 31, pulled out of the Brisbane International saying he was “not ready.”
However, Nadal says he’ll play the Australian Open and he has made a habit of overcoming fitness problems throughout his long career.
Roger Federer, 36, also rolled back the years in 2017 and is showing no signs of slowing down as he builds towards his Australian Open title defence.
Can the ‘Djoker’ regain his smile? King Novak ruled tennis for nearly two years until a sudden loss of form, coinciding with speculation over his private life, in mid-2016.
The 12-time major-winner hasn’t played since retiring from the Wimbledon quarter-finals with an elbow injury in July, and he shapes as an unknown quantity heading into the new season.
Fitness doubts linger over the British former world number one Andy Murray, 30, who has also been off the circuit since July after suffering a hip injury.
Andy Murray, 30, began last season as the world number one but he has far more modest goals heading into 2018. “I want to get back to playing tennis, I want to be fit and healthy and that is what is driving me just now,” he told Sky Sports this week.
Victoria Azarenka’s return from maternity leave this year was complicated by a custody battle over her one-year-old, which forced her to miss much of the season. With her ranking down at 210, the Belarusian former world number one has been handed a wildcard to play the Australian Open, a tournament she has won twice.