W2W4 at Australian Open: Serena's latest quest, return of Andreescu and a new star ready to break through

Australian Open: What you need to know

• When:  Feb. 7 (U.S.)-Feb 21
• Schedule of play:  Day 1 action
• Scoreboard:  Follow here
• Draw:  Singes & doubles

Top preview content

• Meet the press: Serena, Osaka, Halep ready for the Down Under challenge 
• Photos: Top 16 seeds' top runs Down Under

Top storylines

Professional tennis has always been influenced by the seismic events of the world in which it operates.

Four days after a local COVID-19 situation, despite widespread uncertainty, the world’s best players remain gathered together on an island in the Asia-Pacific. The last time they staged a Grand Slam – back in the fall of 2020 – something miraculous happened. An unseeded Polish teenager ran the table at Roland Garros with an almost frightening fortnight of focus.

For everyone involved in this Australian Open, that’s precisely what it’s going to take.

It promises to be another volatile and wildly unpredictable event. With so many top players in extended action the week going in, with some quarantine questions still unanswered, nothing is unimaginable. Still, the goal remains the same: A victory here in 2021’s first major would be the best possible start to the Porsche Race to Shenzhen.

Iga Swiatek, the unheralded French Open champion, said the key to winning in Paris was lowering her expectations and, as she put it, caring less.

“Yeah, I’m going to try to do that,” she said, “but I don’t know if I can just snap a finger and do it. We’re going to see.”

We shall, indeed. Here are 10 compelling storylines to contemplate as Monday’s first ball approaches:

Can Serena Williams bag No. 24?

We'll start with the obvious question that is on everyone's mind. The math is simple: Williams, the seven-time Australian Open champion, turns 40 in September and she needs one more Grand Slam singles title to equal Australian Margaret Court’s record total of 24.

Serena, who became the oldest woman to win a major at the 2017 Australian Open, has been to four major finals since but failed to convert. She has always been an athlete who plays her way into events, sometimes with very little momentum. The unsettled nature surrounding this tournament plays to that strength.

An Achilles injury at the French Open ended Serena’s 2020 season, but she has recovered and won her first two matches at the Yarra Valley Classic in impressive fashion. Don’t read too much into her withdrawal due to a right shoulder injury.

Serena, the No. 10 seed, is projected to meet No. 7 Aryana Sabalenka in the fourth round and, potentially, No. 2 Simona Halep in the quarterfinals.

When Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady earned his 10^th trip to the Super Bowl, some were quick to anoint him as the most accomplished athlete ever. And while he is widely viewed as the NFL’s GOAT, there was some pushback from tennis fans.

Tale of the Tape: Serena has a Grand Slam singles record of 349-49 (.877); Brady’s record as a starter is 263-80 (.767). While Brady has six Super Bowl rings, four Super Bowl MVPs and three regular-season MVPs, Serena has 72 singles titles, five year-end No. 1s and 4 Olympic gold medals.

If they played four Super Bowls each year, would Brady have ... 23 rings.

Will Sofia Kenin defend her title?

Based on the past week’s results, it’s going to be difficult.

The 22-year-old American made the final in two of last year’s three Grand Slams. Her record in majors last year was a scintillating 16-2. That speaks to her nerve, her verve under pressure.

But in Friday’s Australian Open rematch against Garbine Muguruza, Kenin went down 6-2, 6-2. Mugaruza was dialed in and swatted 10 aces – compared to none for Kenin.

No one has repeated in Melbourne since Victoria Azarenka went back-to-back in 2012-13.

A looong hiatus for Ashleigh Barty and Bianca Andreescu

By the standards of today’s sport, they’ve been away from the game for an eternity, more than an entire season.

Barty, 24, won the 2019 French Open and Andreescu, 20, won the US Open three months later. Then the current world No. 1, not wishing to tangle with the virus by traveling the world, missed 11 months. Andreescu, No. 8, sat out 15 months due to knee and foot injuries.

And so here they are, facing so many questions yet solidly among the favorites.

Barty seems on solid ground. She rolled through her first three matches in the Yarra Valley Classic.

“Every day is different,” Barty said. “Regardless of the conditions, you have to respond to the challenge.”

Under these difficult circumstances, a good mindset.

Andreescu’s fitness is harder to gauge.

She was one of those players unable to practice for two weeks, and then pulled out of the Grampians Trophy the day before the tournament, saying in a statement, “Following the last two weeks in quarantine, it feels so good to finally be back on the court. After discussing it with my team, we have decided to focus this week on training for the Australian Open.”

Naomi Osaka and Iga Swiatek take aim

In the trying circumstances of 2020, they managed best at the US Open and French Open.

Osaka’s track record is far longer, a substantial sample size. The 23-year-old from Japan has won three of the past seven majors in which she’s competed – better than any other woman.

On the other hand, Swiatek’s baseline is a single Grand Slam, albeit a magnificent one. She won it at the age of 19, in a manner similar to Serena Williams, who broke through at the US Open at 17. Jelena Ostapenko, for example, was barely 20 when she took the crown at Roland Garros in 2017. She’s 0-for-12 in majors since.

Swiatek lost in the third round of the Gippsland Trophy to Ekaterina Alexandrova. Osaka won her first three matches to run her unbeaten streak to 14 matches.

Is there a new young champion set to make a move?

Hard to believe, but Coco Gauff is still only 16 years old. She’s bigger, faster and stronger than the player that flew into tennis fans’ consciousness when she reached the fourth round at Wimbledon in 2019. She did the same a year ago in Melbourne, before losing to eventual champion Sofia Kenin. Gauff has yet to win a single singles title, but her time will come; she could play No. 5 Elina Svitolina in the second round.

Which young players are ready to make that major leap?

Aryna Sabalenka came into the Aussie warmup with a 15-match winning streak. She left with a one-match losing streak, courtesy of Kaia Kanepi. The 22-year-old Belarusian has all the strokes, but can she find the kind of consistency a Slam demands? She’s never been past the fourth round of a Grand Slam.

Elena Rybakina, a 22-year-old from Kazakhstan, fills this bill as well. She advanced to the quarterfinals earlier this year at Abu Dhabi. Marketa Vondrousova, a 21-year-old from the Czech Republic who just reached the semifinals of the Yarra Valley Classic, is also in this conversation.

Simona Halep’s quest for a career Slam

For seven years – 346 consecutive weeks – Halep has been ranked inside the WTA’s top 10, a remarkable work of consistency.

Consider the names of the seven women ahead of her on that list: Martina Navratilova, Chris Evert, Stefanie Graf, Gabriela Sabatini, Pam Shriver, Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario, and Hana Mandlikova.

“This will make me smile all day today, maybe all week,” Halep said when told of her accomplishment. “I’m looking for perfection, that’s for sure.”

To be perfectly honest? What Halep would really like is a career Grand Slam. She’s already got the French Open and Wimbledon. She’s one of the world’s best hardcourt players, so it wouldn’t be surprising if the 29-year-old Romanian eventually captures the Australian Open and US Open.

She won her first two matches in her Aussie warmup before falling to Ekaterina Alexandrova in the quarterfinals. Potentially, Halep could see French Open champion Iga Swiatek in the fourth round.

Are the veteran multiple Grand Slam winners still hungry?

Oh, yes. With two Australian Open crowns, Victoria Azarenka could have left tennis as a Hall of Famer when she stepped away for the 2017 season to give birth to her son Leo. And then she came back and her 30-something comeback was breathtaking.

She won the Western & Southern Open, then advanced to the US Open final, losing to Osaka. Azarenka is ranked No. 13, precisely where she was when she left the game more than four years.

Azarenka, the No. 3 seed in the Grampians Trophy event, won her first match Friday.

Likewise, Petra Kvitova, ranked No. 9, Garbine Muguruza (No. 15) and Angelique Kerber (No. 25) clearly haven’t forgotten how to win. Muguruza, who knocked off  No. 2 seed Sofia Kenin in the quarterfinals of the Yarra Valley Classic, looks particularly sharp.

Can Karolina Pliskova break through?

The best women’s player never to win a Grand Slam singles title? In the opinion of Tennis Channel’s Paul Annacone, it’s No. 6-ranked Karolina Pliskova.

She’s won more than $20 million, 541 matches and 16 singles titles, but she’s fallen short in each of the 33 majors in which she’s appeared. The closest she’s come: Losing a three-set match to Angelique Kerber in the 2016 US Open final. In 2020, Pliskova lost in the second round of her last two Slams, the US Open and Roland Garros.

Australia has been kind to the No. 6-ranked player, as Pliskova has scored three titles in Brisbane. Melbourne would be her fourth crown in Australia – and the biggest.

What will the impact of the quarantines be?

Overall, Australia has done a terrific job with the COVID-19 threat, largely because of aggressive protocols. The players are thrilled to be playing in front of fans at Melbourne Park and say they understood the need for a 14-day quarantine coming off their planes from all over the world.

The fortunate ones had five hours of liberty each day and the ability to practice for two hours. The 27 singles players exposed to the virus on incoming flights were confined to their rooms 24/7 but had the opportunity to compete in a tournament of their own.

With the Australian warmup tournaments condensed to a single, ecstatic week – and a day off because of COVID-19 concerns – the play was remarkably crisp. Still, it’s impossible to know how it will all play out. If last year’s French Open is any indication, expect the unexpected.

Potential quarterfinal clashes

No. 1 Ashleigh Barty vs. No. 6 Karolina Pliskova; No. 2 Simona Halep vs. No. 7 Aryna Sabalenka; No. 3 Naomi Osaka vs. No. 8 Bianca Andreescu; No. 4 Sofia Kenin vs. No. 5 Elina Svitolina.

Get your popcorn ready.