Serena Williams rebuts claims she is struggling with injury ahead of

Five-time Australian Open champion Novak Djokovic could face record Grand Slam victor Roger Federer in the semi-finals of the season’s opening Grand Slam following Friday’s draw in Melbourne.

Serena Williams plays a forehand return during a practice session ahead of the 2016 Australian Open in Melbourne on Jan 16, 2016.

World number one women’s tennis player, Serena Williams looked fierce in a black crop top and matching leggings at the Australian Open Players’ Party which held in Melbourne, Australia.

Sharapova, Australian Open champion in 2008, pulled out of her title defence at the Brisbane International two weeks ago because of a left forearm problem, one of a string of injuries to have dogged the 28-year-old since the middle of last year.

But the tennis community has been forced to stand up and take notice of the world number 107, who has overcome three meniscus tears, after she got the better of Bencic and Andrea Petkovic en route to the Brisbane International semi-finals.

“Will they continue to dominate at the season-opening Australian Open, which starts Monday?” She also said she hoped the underwear landed back in their rightful owner’s hands.

No. 2 Andy Murray, who has lost four Australian Open finals including the 2015 edition, is on the bottom half of the draw with Nadal and Warwinka. Any more laundry situations I need to clear up before we get on with our day?’ But after playing for so many years on tour, I should be able to focus on that and the fact that I have played a lot of matches. “Her knees simply responded badly to a treatment that she received a few days before the Hopman Cup, and she experienced swelling …” This will be the first time we get to see the world No. 1 player in a real match since the US Open and whether that aching left knee limits her any further. “I don’t think they will be an obstacle to her performances in the future”.

Speaking earlier this week about her involvement with Berlei Williams said: ‘My mom first discovered Berlei while on a trip to Australia nearly 10 years ago and I have been wearing their bras ever since – for every tennis match without fail.

Serena Williams: She is naturally the top seed, was 26-1 in Slams previous year and has won the Aussie six times.

“I’ve had a really good preparation”. “I think it will be hard for her to do that in 2016, but, well, Serena remains Serena”.

Other interesting first-round matches include veteran women Daniela Hantuchova and Svetlana Kuznetsova duking it out, while on the men’s side, crowd favorite and one-time finalist in Melbourne, Marcos Baghdatis goes toe-to-toe with 9th seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, in what could prove to be a boil over.

In last year’s title match, Djokovic appeared to be in trouble against Murray at the start of the third set but recovered to triumph in the fourth. Injuries, tough draws and erratic play plagued her 2015 campaign, but Azarenka reached the quarterfinals at Wimbledon and the U.S. Open.

But the Russian said she was not looking beyond her first round clash.

Mouratoglou, who has coached Williams since June 2012, recommended against her playing in the final stretch of the 2015 season, in part because he wanted her to recover her motivation after the deflation of the Vinci upset. He was placed in a quarter with several heavy hitters, including 2014 Australian Open champ Stan Wawrinka.