National Post (National Edition)
Women’s draw a wide-open affair
When Serena Williams was at her best, there was never much doubt that she’d be the favourite at pretty much any tournament she entered. While she was off the tour becoming a mom, women’s tennis was as wide-open as ever.
Could the Australian Open, where play begins Monday (Sunday EST), end the recent run in which eight women divvied up the past two years’ worth of Grand Slam championships, the first time that had happened since the 1930s?
It began with Williams taking home her seventh title from Melbourne, and 23rd major singles trophy overall, in January 2017. The world didn’t know it at the time, but she was pregnant then; her daughter, Olympia, was born on Sept. 1 of that year. Williams didn’t return to Grand Slam action until last year’s French Open and while she reached the finals at Wimbledon and the U.S. Open, her title drought continues.
In the meantime, players such as No. 1-ranked Simona Halep, defending Australian Open champion Caroline Wozniacki, Sloane Stephens, Naomi Osaka and Jelena Ostapenko each claimed her first major, while Angelique Kerber and Garbine Muguruza added to their collections.
DJOKOVIC’S DOMINANCE:
Novak Djokovic returned to his old form in the last half of last season, winning Wimbledon and the U.S. Open to run his major title total to 14, trailing only Roger Federer’s 20 and Rafael Nadal’s 17. Even if he got off to a bit of a shaky start to 2019, Djokovic is still the oddsmakers’ favourite to add to his count with what would be a record seventh trophy in Melbourne. “My focus and objectives are Grand Slams,” the 31-yearold Serb said. “That’s where I want to be able shine and play my best.”
ROGER AND RAFA: Federer has won the past two titles at Melbourne Park and a total of six, like Djokovic; they could only meet in the final in two weeks’ time. Federer is now 37, but he’s healthy and still looks young on court. The same can’t necessarily be said for Nadal, whose only Australian Open trophy came via a victory over Federer in the 2009 final. Nadal has dealt with injuries in Melbourne over the years, including retiring during the quarter-finals in 2018, and his hard-court record of late is discouraging. But if he can put aside the thigh strain that cropped up in early January, his game is good enough for another deep run.
NEW RULES: Among the changes this year are firstto-10-points, win-by-two tiebreakers at 6-6 in men’s fifth sets and women’s third sets; a new way of measuring extreme heat and the allowance for 10-minute breaks ahead of men’s fourth sets — something first seen at last year’s U.S. Open — and, as already was the case, ahead of women’s third sets; 25-second serve clocks.