Serena eyes historic win

Serena Williams has won everything the game of tennis has to offer but victory at this year’s Australian Open will hand her two new records.

Williams is currently ranked as the second most successful player of all time, with 23 Grand Slams – just one short of Australian legend Margaret Court.

And a win on Court’s home soil in September would push Williams up to joint first and a place in history.

39-year-old Williams has been stuck on 23 Grand Slam wins for three years, with her last major final win coming in the Australian Open in 2017, which she won whilst pregnant.

Since returning to the sport following the birth of her daughter, she has reached four Grand Slam finals but failed at the final hurdle each time, most recently in the 2019 US Open when she lost to Canadian Bianca Andreescu.

A Williams win would also see her become the oldest player ever to win a Grand Slam – as she looks to overcome Ken Rosewall who was 37 years and two months of age when he won the Australian Open in 1972.

Ahead of the opening Slam of the year in Melbourne, Williams finds herself an outsider for the title at 12/1.

OddsMonkey spokesman Peter Watton commented: “Serena is a true legend of sport, let alone Tennis, but if she could land this Australian Open title and add these two records to her CV it would only cement her legacy.

“At 39, she does not appear to have too long left at the top so if she is going to win she needs to strike soon, and although she’s no longer the favourite for every title you can never write her off in the slams.”

Selected Australian Open odds:

Men’s Title Novak Djokovic – 11/8 Daniil Medvedev – 5/1 Rafael Nadal – 11/2 Dominic Thiem – 5/1 Stefanos Tsitsipas – 12/1 Alexander Zverev – 16/1

Women’s Title Naomi Osaka – 11/2 Aryna Sabalenka – 9/1 Ashleigh Barty – 9/1 Simona Halep – 10/1 Serenea Williams – 12/1 Garbine Muguruza – 14/1

*Odds correct at time of writing