Serena On the Brink of 18th Grand Slam

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(January 12, 2014) With the first Grand Slam of the 2014 season set to begin in Melbourne, the number one player in women's tennis is looking to cement her place amongst the greatest of all time. Serena Williams comes into Australia fresh off of her win against world number two Victoria Azarenka in Brisbane and is looking to capture her 18th singles Grand Slam.

Williams already owns five Australian Open titles though it has been four years since she last was victorious on the fabled blue clay. Last year Williams fell in the quarterfinals to Sloane Stephens though it was one of the few low points to what turned into a career year for her.

Williams only dropped four matches last year winning an astounding 78 out of 82 matches that she played. She won eleven times including the French Open and then the U.S. Open which added to her major championship treasure chest and puts Williams in the position to tie both Martina Navratilova and Chrissy Evert if she can claim her 18th in Australia. 

Williams also racked up twelve million dollars in 2013 which set a record in prize money for the women's tour. Williams spoke to the media on Saturday in Melbourne and addressed the prospect of joining the club of elite players that hold 18 Grand Slam titles. 

"It would mean a lot to be on the same level as such great players. I still have a lot of work to do. I obviously want to reach that level, but I'm not there yet. Hopefully I will get there."

At 32 years of age one would think that father time would be starting to catch up with her. Yet if Williams is feeling the effects of her age it clearly isn't showing in her game. The gap between Williams and the rest of players in the top ten alone isn't even remotely close. None of her peers has a winning record against her and those holding the top spots behind her such as Azarenka and Maria Sharapova have dismal records against her.

Williams has a very favourable draw in Melbourne with Sharapova and Azarenka on the other side. Don't expect an early exit from Williams this year, she won't see a top player until most likely the quarterfinals or perhaps even the semi-finals. 

If Williams can win in Australia then Steffi Graf's record of 22 Grand Slams, (the most in the Open-era) would appear to be within reach. And then the talk of greatest of all time will be the next debate.

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