Court going for long shot

MARGARET COURT believes an outsider could deny Serena Williams a record-tying 24th Grand Slam crown at the Australian Open. The American superstar cracked under the pressure of trying to equal Court’s long-standing record at the US Open in September. Williams won her 23rd Slam on her last appearance at the Australian Open in 2017 but lost the finals at Wimbledon and New York last season. Court has decided against travelling to Melbourne Park this year but the Australian, who won her last Grand Slam title in 1973, predicts the recent run of eight different winners in the past two years in the big four tournaments could be maintained.

“I think it’s possible for Serena to equal me – if anybody’s going to do it – it’s Serena,” said the 76-year-old Court. “But I don’t think there’s a clear-cut favourite. I think that it’s a pretty open tournament and I think an outsider can win it.

“There have been a lot of different winners over the past two years and that could continue. You’ve got Serena there with the experience but the girls seem to be chopping and changing a lot, so anything could happen.”

No16 seed Williams, who has won the Australian Open seven times, plays her first-round match against German Tatjana Maria tomorrow.