APHeaded for the top five
What I have seen in Melbourne convinces me that Williams is back as a force in women’s tennis, and I would have said that even if she had lost to Sharapova.
She may not like to train and she doesn’t seem to like to practice that much, but she has proven to herself and to the world that she can be successful without pushing herself as hard as some other players have to.
I think that there is still room for Williams to get better and play the kind of match she did against Sharapova day-in and day-out.
She played only 16 matches last year and this season she has already played 10, and she has won the Australian Open and raised her ranking from 81 in the world to 14.
She played so little last season that she has no points to defend until she gets to Cincinnati in August, so every tournament that she plays between now and then -- including the French Open and Wimbledon -- will see her move further and further up the rankings. She should be back into the top five in no time.
A big year ahead?
Williams is excited about her rise up the rankings, and so she should be because it means that she can go into the other three Grand-Slam events this year knowing that she will have the advantage of a high seeding.
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The United States completed a 5-0 rout of Switzerland in the Davis Cup on Sunday, with 19-year-old Ryan Harrison and John Isner winning closing singles matches.
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