Top 10 seeds David Ferrer, Tomas Berdych, Stan Wawrinka and Richard Gasquet raced into the second round of the Australian Open on Monday, apparently eager to make the most of relatively mild conditions at Melbourne Park.
Playing her first match of the North American hard court swing after pulling out of last week's event in Stanford with a sore right elbow, Williams played a ragged opening set in which she was broken four times while firing four double faults.
IMAGES from Day 4 of the Australian Open in Melbourne, on Thursday.
Serena Williams outplayed Maria Sharapova to claim the 2015 Australian Open championship in straight sets on Saturday.
Following Serena Williams's 19th Grand Slam title, here is the list of Australian Open women's singles champions since the event began in 1922 (Australian unless stated)
As tradition demands the Serb will open play on Centre Court on Monday as defending men's champion but rather than a gentle loosener the 28-year-old faces a real danger in the form of Germany's Philipp Kohlschreiber, the world number 33.
Serena Williams is a five-times Wimbledon champion but the American has surprisingly declared that she has "never really liked grass".
An Australian Open electrified by the revivals of seasoned champions will bathe in the warm glow of nostalgia on Saturday when the Williams sisters contest the women's final at Rod Laver Arena.
Top seed Andy Murray could meet Roger Federer or Kei Nishikori in the third round, while Serena faces tricky Belinda Bencic in opening round
Images from Day 6 of the Australian Open in Melbourne, on Saturday.
Serena Williams kept her bid for a calendar-year Grand Slam on track, powering past big sister Venus 6-2, 1-6, 6-3 on a steamy star-studded night at the US Open in New York, on Tuesday.
'I'm not thinking ahead to the Open right now because I am here in Toronto and I haven't really played a hard court match in awhile. I'm thinking I want to get some of this under my belt and the Open will happen when the Open happens.'
From potential dark horses to former champions, here are the players who were knocked out of the Australian Open on Thursday
List of Wimbledon women's singles champions:
IMAGES of the all the action from Day 2 of the Australian Open played at Melbourne Park on Tuesday
Images from Day 6 of the Australian Open in Melbourne on Saturday.
If Serena Williams wanted to sound like someone who did not really care whether she won another Wimbledon or not, telling the world she just wanted to have fun, nobody was fooled on Thursday.
Caroline Wozniacki said she felt 'cursed' at Melbourne Park after losing in straight sets to a resurgent Victoria Azarenka in the Australian Open second round on Thursday.
Serena Williams weathered an early challenge from Russian Vera Zvonareva before the former World No 2 crumbled to lose 7-5, 6-0 in the second round of the Australian Open on Thursday.
If Williams is indeed 20 weeks into her term, that would mean she was approximately two months pregnant when she captured her record 23rd Grand Slam tournament singles title at the Australian Open in January.
Twelve months on from making the most bizarre of exits from Wimbledon, drama queen Serena Williams will be back at the All England Club next week eager to complete the "Serena Slam".
World number one Serena Williams survived a mid-match meltdown to beat Czech Lucie Safarova 6-3, 6-7(2), 6-2 to win the French Open on Saturday, her 20th Grand Slam singles trophy.
Summary of sports events and persons who made news on Monday
Serena Williams beat her sister Venus 6-4, 6-4 in the Australian Open final on Saturday to win her 23rd grand slam singles title and become the most successful tennis player in the open era.
Images from Day 3 of the Australian Open in Melbourne on Wednesday
World number one Simona Halep saved three match-points before edging past an inspired Lauren Davis 4-6, 6-4, 15-13 in a thrilling marathon to reach the fourth round of the Australian Open on Saturday.
Canadian tennis ace Eugenie Bouchard was left surprised after a male presenter conducting her on-court interview made an unusual request by asking her to give them a twirl.
Serena Williams enters the Australian Open as a strong favourite to lift the Daphne Akhurst Memorial Cup but is all too aware that a sixth Melbourne Park title has now eluded her for five years.
The Swiss great is looking to win a 102nd tour-level trophy and move closer to Jimmy Connors' record of 109.
Australian Open organisers have tweaked their 'Extreme Heat Policy' for next year's tournament after being accused of forcing players to perform in "inhuman" conditions during a heatwave in January.
Serena Williams is on the brink of the grandest achievement in tennis, the single season Grand Slam, and even the leading men at the US Open championships starting on Monday are cheering her on.
Serena Williams retained her US Open crown by holding off a battling Victoria Azarenka of Belarus 7-5, 6-7(6), 6-1 in a windblown final at the Arthur Ashe stadium on Sunday.
Serena Williams is third on the list of female Grand Slam title winners. She is one of only five women, after Maureen Connolly, Margaret Court, Martina Navratilova and Steffi Graf, to hold all four Grand Slam titles at same time.
Ailing knees, Father Time and even a resurgent Victoria Azarenka stand in the way of Serena Williams clinching her seventh Australian Open title and giving her one more shot at an achievement that would cap her storied career.
List of Australian Open women's singles champions since the event began in 1922 (Australian unless stated):
"I prayed hard. Prayers not to win but for strength. All glory to God," the World No 1 said.
Two-time Grand Slam champion Victoria Azarenka will no longer bite her tongue or try to fit into any media-trained 'image' as she makes her way on the tennis tour.
Photos from the Australian Open matches played at Melbourne Park on Wednesday.
IMAGES from all the action on Day 8 the Australian Open on Monday
The older Serena Williams gets, the more dominant she becomes. At 33, an age when most players start to fade, her grip on women's tennis looks as secure as ever.
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