Serena Says She’s Raring To Go In Australia

Lying ahead in the draw, Williams refuses to look at the woman she conquered in the final a year ago, Maria Sharapova, who is a potential quarter-final opponent for the American.

Will six-time victor and defending champion Serena Williams be affected by inflammation in her left knee that forced her out of the Hopman Cup in Perth?

Both players said they’ve recovered from their respective ailments and are ready to go, Williams as the second match on the main Rod Laver Arena, Sharapova to open the night program at Margaret Court Arena.

– Federer needs three more wins to reach 300 grand slam victories in his career, while Nadal requires two to hit 200. “But to me in my mind “easy” is just two hours of really intense working out”. “I don’t look back”, she added.

Camila Giorgi is the highest ranked player not to be seeded at the Australian Open at 35 in the world, and Williams managed to draw the Italian in the first round.

If she is feeling any doubts about her match form having played just one competitive set since her US Open shock semi-final loss to Roberta Vinci last September, Williams is also not willing to reveal that.

Serena Williams has brushed off concerns about her fitness as she gets set to defend her title at the Australian Open.

Sidelined from playing Brisbane due to the flare up of a forearm injury, she has been taking the extra time off as an opportunity to adapt to the tricky conditions in Melbourne.

‘My knee is actually really fine. “Amusing you ask that”, she said, after a question about laundry from a journalist.

“It’s really about getting ready weeks before, not so much this week”, Sharapova told reporters in Melbourne. One of the only consistent aspects of Williams’ last few seasons has been the presence of pressure as her greatest rival, rather than preparation issues or those people on the other side of the net.

“If an item is returned to an incorrect player he/she generally returns it to the locker room attendants, who will post signs in the locker room describing the item and advising it is available for collection”, the tournament representative said.

She said the Frenchman had so far not imparted any specific tips on what it would take to land a maiden Grand Slam on the Melbourne Park hardcourts.

Sharapova will now hope to put the episode behind her and make a clean start in Melbourne, where she faces Japan’s Nao Hibino in the first round.

Third-seeded Spaniard Garbine Muguruza, who made the fourth round in Melbourne past year and was runner-up at Wimbledon, faces Estonia’s Anett Kontaveit.

Her preparations this year, though, haven’t exactly gone according to plan – but Sharapova is making the best of it.