Australian Open, Melbourne, WTA GRAND SLAM

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DATE: 16 January - 29 January 2017
SURFACE: Hard
PRIZE MONEY: A$22,624,000
FIELD SIZE: 128
DEFENDING CHAMPION: Angelique Kerber

Seeds:

1. Angelique Kerber (GER)
2. Serena Williams (USA)
3. Agnieszka Radwanska (POL)
4. Simona Halep (ROU)
5. Karolina Pliskova (CZE)
6. Dominika Cibulkova (SVK)
7. Garbiñe Muguruza (ESP)
8. Svetlana Kuznetsova (RUS)
9. Johanna Konta (GBR)
10. Carla Suárez Navarro (ESP)
11. Elina Svitolina (UKR)
12. Timea Bacsinszky (SUI)
13. Venus Williams (USA)
14. Elena Vesnina (RUS)
15. Roberta Vinci (ITA)
16. Barbora Strycova (CZE)
17. Caroline Wozniacki (DEN)
18. Samantha Stosur (AUS)
19. Kiki Bertens (NED)
20. Shuai Zhang (CHN)
21. Caroline Garcia (FRA)
22. Daria Gavrilova (AUS)
23. Daria Kasatkina (RUS)
24. Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (RUS)
25. Timea Babos (HUN)
26. Laura Siegemund (GER)
27. Irina-Camelia Begu (ROU)
28. Alizé Cornet (FRA)
29. Monica Puig (PUR)
30. Ekaterina Makarova (RUS)
31. Yulia Putintseva (KAZ)
32. Anastasija Sevastova (LAT)

The Tournament:

The Australian Open is the first of the four Grand Slam tennis events of the year and has been staged since 1905. Prior to 1988 the tournament was played on grass. Since 1988 two types of hardcourt surfaces have been used at Melbourne Park (formely known as Flinders Park) - Rebound Ace to 2007 and then Plexicushion.

Attendances at the Australian Open are second only to the US Open and the showcourts are the Rod Laver Arena, Hisense Arena and the refurbished Margaret Court Arena. All are equipped with retractable roofs.

About Melbourne:

Melbourne is the state capital of Victoria in Queensland and regularly features in the top ranks of the "most livable" cities in the world. It is the second largest city in Australia (after Sydney) with a population of just over 4.5 million.

Founded in 1835, The metropolis is located on the large natural bay of Port Phillip and expands into the hinterlands towards the Dandenong and Macedon mountain ranges, Mornington Peninsula and Yarra Valley.

At the city's centre is the modern Federation Square development, with plazas, bars, and restaurants by the Yarra River. In the Southbank area, the Melbourne Arts Precinct is the site of Arts Centre Melbourne – a performing arts complex – and the National Gallery of Victoria, with Australian and indigenous art.

Tourism Guide:

 

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Seeds have been released:

1. Angelique Kerber (GER)
2. Serena Williams (USA)
3. Agnieszka Radwanska (POL)
4. Simona Halep (ROU)
5. Karolina Pliskova (CZE)
6. Dominika Cibulkova (SVK)
7. Garbiñe Muguruza (ESP)
8. Svetlana Kuznetsova (RUS)
9. Johanna Konta (GBR)
10. Carla Suárez Navarro (ESP)
11. Elina Svitolina (UKR)
12. Timea Bacsinszky (SUI)
13. Venus Williams (USA)
14. Elena Vesnina (RUS)
15. Roberta Vinci (ITA)
16. Barbora Strycova (CZE)
17. Caroline Wozniacki (DEN)
18. Samantha Stosur (AUS)
19. Kiki Bertens (NED)
20. Shuai Zhang (CHN)
21. Caroline Garcia (FRA)
22. Daria Gavrilova (AUS)
23. Daria Kasatkina (RUS)
24. Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (RUS)
25. Timea Babos (HUN)
26. Laura Siegemund (GER)
27. Irina-Camelia Begu (ROU)
28. Alizé Cornet (FRA)
29. Monica Puig (PUR)
30. Ekaterina Makarova (RUS)
31. Yulia Putintseva (KAZ)
32. Anastasija Sevastova (LAT)

 

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Draw Update:

Serena will get Bencic (Rd 1) and probably Safarova or Wickmayer (Rd 2) - tough start.

 

[MargaretMcAleer]

Draw Update:

Serena will get Bencic (Rd 1) and probably Safarova or Wickmayer (Rd 2) - tough start.

Yikes.........Serena cannot afford to find form early at the AO,she will have to 'Be On' from the start.

I still think defending your GS title is harder in ways then first winning it.I will be surprised if Kerber can defend her title at the AO in 2017.My dark horse hoping she got over her upper thigh injury after winning Brisbane is Pliskova,also Domi always plays well at the AO.I will not write off Serena as she has a great record at the AO.

 

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The Full Draw:

 

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Yikes.........Serena cannot afford to find form early at the AO,she will have to 'Be On' from the start.

I still think defending your GS title is harder in ways then first winning it.I will be surprised if Kerber can defend her title at the AO in 2017.My dark horse hoping she got over her upper thigh injury after winning Brisbane is Pliskova,also Domi always plays well at the AO.I will not write off Serena as she has a great record at the AO.

I don't think Angie repeats either. They were talking about Pliskova being a danger.

Agree it's crazy to write off Serena, but her draw is loaded!!

 

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Martina Navratilova previews the Australian Open 2017 (before the draw was made)



In a nutshell...

Momentum doesn't matter too much for Serena - it's all about confidence and timing. Although preparation, timing, and recovery will take longer due to her age.

Serena, like most older players with a decreasing window of opportunity, needs to stay in the moment and not over-analyze.

Martina is going for Serena to take the title.

Margaret's Court record of 24 majors is distorted by Australian titles. Martina thinks the Virginia Slims was bigger in her time. Now it's all about the majors.

One of Kerber or Serena won't be in the final.

Pressure is off Serena because she's not the defending champion. Kerber is defending #1 and the AO title.

Pliskova has a chance - she's playing well and healthy.

Kvitova's attack was beyond belief.

Halep is working hard and putting in the work. Got the game but needs to put it together in the big matches.

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On the men's draw...

It's a pretty sure bet that Murray and Djokovic will be there.

Djokovic lost the plot in Doha during the second set.

Dimitrov doesn't put enough weight on the ball and is not likely to redline it long enough in a five set match.

You can't be too skinny in a long match, need body fat reserves to fall back on (Wertheim said Djokovic was looking even skinnier than usual in Doha)

Players probably don't bare their soul to the coach anymore because of the high turnaround in coaches among the top players. Don't want to reveal trade secrets!

Great to see Federer back and still Nadal grinding out. Strange situation with two players who could potentially win the tournament seeded so low.

Federer won't be playing on court 4 despite his seeding!

Older players lose reactions more than pure speed. It can make a huge difference... particularly with a player who has one handed backhand like Roger.

Once you win majors, anything less is a defeat. There is no such thing as a moral victory for Federer or Nadal unless they win it.

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[Tennisproguru.com]

I am going with Pliskova Karolina, she was perfect in Brisbane .. and would be fun if Kerber meets second Pliskova (Kristina) in 3rd round and lose

 

[MargaretMcAleer]

One of the players that has been a 'Hoodoo' for Pliskova is Radwanksa,who to date has not taken a set off Radwanksa,both players are in the same side of the draw.Maybe Pliskova can watch the final at Sydney and take notes the way Konta dismantled Radwanska's game.

 

[Moxie]

I'm inclined to Pliskova...a lot of people like Martina are talking her up. I'll never count Serena out, of course. And a lot of people mentioned Kasatkina as a dark horse. I'm not really up on the depth of the women's game, but that hasn't kept me from making draw picks.

 

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