Top 5 Women Contenders at Australian Open

With the Australian Open just on the horizon ,we take a look at the top 5 women who can take home the Grand Slam of the Asia Pacific.

5. Garbine Muguruza : The Newbie

Strengths: Standing 6 feet tall, Muguruza has an attacking style of play. She reached the Wimbledon finals last year. On her day, she is capable of taking on anyone.

Weakness: The biggest problem is her movement. Her game relies a lot on a big first serve and an inability to put in a strong first delivery diminishes her chances to win. Consequently, her game lacks in variety.

Opportunities: A higher ranking means that she would avoid the bigger players in earlier rounds of the Australian open. This tournament is also a chance for her to prove to the critics that her Wimbledon run was not a fluke.

Threats: Inexperience may prove to be fatal for her. Her big match abilities are yet to be adequately tested; in the biggest match of her career (Wimbledon final) , she converted only 3 of the 10 break points she had.

4. Maria Sharapova : Always on the Hunt

Strengths: Maria Sharapova is known for the aggressive style of play, with the unique ability of moving players around the court. However her biggest asset over the years has been her unwavering mental strength.

Weakness: What used to be one of her biggest weapons before the shoulder injury has turned into one of her greatest liabilities i.e. her serve.

She has the unfortunate knack of committing double faults at crucial stages. Also, her record against Serena Williams ( who defeated her in the 2015 French Open finals) is a dismal 2-18 .

Opportunities : Her performances at the Australian Open in the recent past have been consistent, with her reaching the final twice  in the last 4 years.

Threats: She has been injury prone throughout  her career and pulling out of the recent Brisbane open has done no good to her cause.

3. Simona Halep: The Pocketbomb

Strengths: She can cover the court with tremendous agility and packs a powerful punch for someone 5’6”. She has a  backhand with the ability to manoeuvre opponents around the court

Weakness: Despite ranking no. 2 in the world she failed to reach a single Grand Slam final in 2015, which puts a serious question mark on her ability to go all the way. She tends to prolong her earlier round matches which leaves her with very less energy in the later stages of tournament.

Opportunities: If she brings her A game and gets easy earlier round matchups she could have a shot at winning the Australian open crown.

Threats: This is the only slam in which she has failed to reach the semifinal or better.

2. Agnieszka Radwanska: The Trickster

Strengths: She is considered by most as the best shoemaker on the WTA tour. From dropshots to slices to lobs, she can hit them all. Her crouching shot is one of the most talked about and loved shots on the tour.

Weakness: She does not possess an attacking (stinging) game and largely relies on unforced errors of other players. She is consistent but does not have the ability to go all out.

Opportunities: After bagging the WTA Tour finals and Shenzhen Open, her confidence is on a high as she is the player to beat.

Threats: The draw has to play a big part in her winning Australian open.It is better if she avoids big serving attacking minded opponents in  earlier rounds.[tps_header][/tps_header]

1.Serena Williams: The Undisputed Champ

Strengths: The reigning champion and the World no.1 is close to invincible on her day. She has the bigger serve on tour, a ferocious return game, great net play and amazing movement for an athlete who is 34 years old.

Weakness: As proved in the Us open semifinal ,she is susceptible to an unpredictable type of game ( Sara Errani’s). Also she is quite  vulnerable in the earlier rounds (Victoria Azarenka at the French and Johna Konta at Wimbledon this year).

Opportunities: She  will be more than motivated to win her 22nd grand slam and equal Steffi Graff’s record . Also, after the failed attempt last year, she would hope that her dream of netting a Serena Slam in the same calendar year bears fruit this time. The Australian Open has always been a happy hunting ground for her.

Threats: Her mental strength is in question after she put an early end to her season after a disappointing loss at the Big Apple. Fitness is a question mark after she pulled out of Sydney international.

Dark Horse

Victoria Azarenka: The Melbourne queen

Weakness: Her service ,especially the second delivery, is very poor.  Also, she hasn’t quite reached the top of her game after coming back from injury and there is a serious doubt with respect to her mental strength.

Opportunities: Australian Open is her favourite Grand Slam, having  won it twice (2012,2013). Winning the Brisbane open convincingly shows that she is an in form player.

Threats: Her ranking is a lowly 16. It means that she could play one of the top seeds as early as the pre-quarters.