Profiles of the top Women’s Singles contenders for the 2013 Australian Open. Note: Grand Slam records for main draw matches only. – by Jack Cunniff http://twitter.com/jrcunniff
1. Victoria Azarenka
2012 Record: 69-12
Grand Slam Record: 73-27
Australian Open Record: 21-6
Australian Open Best Result: W (2012)
Fast Fact: Azarenka has won 13 of her 14 titles in straight sets (def. Li 2012 Sydney in three sets).
2. Maria Sharapova
2012 Record: 60-11
Grand Slam Record: 137-34
Australian Open Record: 34-8
Australian Open Best Result: W (2008)
Fast Fact: Sharapova’s 2012 season was her most successful in terms of Grand Slam match wins (21) and tied for her best season in terms of victories over Top Ten opponents (14).
3. Serena Williams
2012 Record: 58-4
Grand Slam Record: 225-34
Australian Open Record: 54-7
Australian Open Best Result: W (2003, 2005, 2007, 2009, 2010)
Fast Fact: If she can win her 57th Australian Open match in the Third Round, Serena will pass Lindsay Davenport for most match wins at the event (Open Era).
4. Agnieszka Radwanska
2012 Record: 59-19
Grand Slam Record: 63-26
Australian Open Record: 15-6
Australian Open Best Result: QF (2008, 2011, 2012)
Fast Fact: Radwanska became the sixth woman to win two Australian Open warm-up events since the event moved to January in 1988, and the second to achieve that without dropping a set (Smashnova, 2002).
5. Angelique Kerber
2012 Record: 60-22
Grand Slam Record: 26-20
Australian Open Record: 5-5
Australian Open Best Result: 3R (2010, 2012)
Fast Fact: Kerber’s opening round match at the Australian Open will be her 500th match as a professional (316-183).
6. Na Li
2012 Record: 42-17
Grand Slam Record: 65-25
Australian Open Record: 21-7
Australian Open Best Result: RU (2011)
Fast Fact: While Li struggled in Grand Slam events in 2012, she tied with Radwanska for the second best win total (26) at the Premier level events, trailing only Azarenka (28).
7. Sara Errani
2012 Record: 55-22
Grand Slam Record: 32-21
Australian Open Record: 8-5
Australian Open Best Result: QF (2012)
Fast Fact: Errani won more Grand Slam matches in 2012 (17) than she had won through her entire career prior to 2012 (15).
8. Petra Kvitova
2012 Record: 46-17
Grand Slam Record: 45-17
Australian Open Record: 10-4
Australian Open Best Result: SF (2012)
Fast Fact: Kvitova has won only three of her last 10 matches.
9. Samantha Stosur
2012 Record: 44-24
Grand Slam Record: 59-37
Australian Open Record: 14-10
Australian Open Best Result: 4R (2006, 2010)
Fast Fact: Stosur holds a sub-.500 match record in Australia (33-37), but has a winning percentage over 60% outside of her homeland; she currently has a five match losing streak in Australia.
10. Caroline Wozniacki
2012 Record: 50-21
Grand Slam Record: 61-23
Australian Open Record: 17-5
Australian Open Best Result: SF (2011)
Fast Fact: Wozniacki has lost her last three matches in Grand Slams, and will lose her fourth straight if she falls to Sabine Lisicki in the First Round (1-2 head-to-head record).
11. Marion Bartoli
2012 Record: 41-25
Grand Slam Record: 69-44
Australian Open Record: 13-11
Australian Open Best Result: QF (2009)
Fast Fact: Bartoli has spent 292 consecutive weeks ranked in the Top Twenty (since July 2007), the longest active streak among all players.
12. Nadia Petrova
2012 Record: 39-19
Grand Slam Record: 109-50
Australian Open Record: 27-13
Australian Open Best Result: QF (2006, 2010)
Fast Fact: Two-thirds of Petrova’s 2012 match wins came in the second half of the year, after the French Open.
13. Ana Ivanovic
2012 Record: 37-21
Grand Slam Record: 79-31
Australian Open Record: 17-8
Australian Open Best Result: RU (2008)
Fast Fact: Since winning the 2008 French Open, Ivanovic has defeated only one Top Twenty opponent in a Grand Slam event (def. Stosur, 2009 French Open).
25. Venus Williams
2012 Record: 24-9
Grand Slam Record: 212-49
Australian Open Record: 39-12
Australian Open Best Result: RU (2003)
Fast Fact: Venus’ last appearance at the Australian Open was her only retirement in a Grand Slam match (lost to Petkovic, 3R, 2011).
uns. Svetlana Kuznetsova
2012 Record: 16-13
Grand Slam Record: 117-39
Australian Open Record: 27-11
Australian Open Best Result: QF (2005, 2009)
Fast Fact: This is the first Grand Slam event where Kuznetsova has been unseeded since the 2003 French Open, ending a streak of 37 consecutive Slams where she’s been seeded.