 | Slideshow |
 | Record performances Take a look at players who have won and put themselves in the record books at the U.S. Open. NBCSports.com |
| Slideshow |
 | NBCSports.com |
Serena Williams
Among Serena's seven Grand Slam titles are two Australian Open crowns (2003, and 2005). She made it to the third round last year in Melbourne, but played little tennis in 2006 as a knee injury limited her to just four tournaments.
Serena is convinced she is hitting the ball harder than ever, and she is such a dangerous floater it's incredible. With her great serve and talent, and her fighting spirit, the rust on her game may not be that great a factor -- at least against inferior opponents.
The draw slotted her in above the 27th-seed Mara Santangelo, and the two will meet in the first round. Their only previous match was at Wimbledon in 2005 when Serena won in three sets.
In the bottom of the draw, Serena could go against fifth-seeded Nadia Petrova in the third round, 11th-seeded Jelena Jankovic in the round-of-16, and third-seeded Svetlana Kuznetsova in the quarters.
If she makes the semis, second-seeded Amelie Mauresmo could be waiting.
Serena has been to the top of the mountain, so don't expect her to have doubts about climbing back to the summit. It may be a commonly held opinion that Serena is not the player she once was, but you can bet she's out to prove a lot of people wrong.
Jelena Jankovic
The 11th-seed is a darkhorse to win the women's singles title. A young Serb, Jankovic is a fighter, and it's amazing how far she has come since losing 10 straight matches early in 2006.
Much like Sharapova, Jankovic has a great game, hits hard, and is very focused. She plays every point like her life is on the line. She starts the point and just never lets up.
She served notice on how tough an out she'll likely be in Melbourne by running off a thrilling nine-match winning streak earlier this year during which he scored wins over Amelie Mauresmo, Martina Hingis and Nicole Vaidisova.
If you take her results since the middle of last May after she had put an end to her losing streak, Jankovic, who enters the Australian Open ranked 12th, would be ranked fifth in the world.
Lindsay, Venus sit it out
Among those missing from this year's Australian Open are two prominent U.S. players: Lindsay Davenport, who is pregnant, and Venus Williams, who is injured.
Some up-and-coming players to keep an eye on include 10th-seeded Czech Nicole Vaidisova, who is coming off a solid year in 2006, 13th-seeded Ana Ivanovic, who has the biggest forehand in the game since Steffi Graf, and ninth-seeded Dinara Safina, who won the Gold Coast tournament earlier this month, and who I feel is coming into her own.
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