Lessons From Melbourne: Six Thoughts From the Australian Open

While Serena Williams continued her dominance at the Australian Open, there were plenty of other stories that caught people's attention.

From the surprising run of Justine Henin to the emergence of two Chinese stars, there was something for everyone down under over the last two weeks.

Serena Remains the One To Beat

Serena Williams is now 51-6 lifetime in women’s singles matches at Melbourne Park—and an incredible 34-2 since she lost in the quarterfinals in 2001. To put her dominance into perspective, Roger Federer is only 53-7 there. Serena is that good.

The younger Williams' sister improved to a perfect 5-0 in finals play at Melbourne Park, and she equaled the achievement of five titles at one Grand Slam of sister Venus (at Wimbledon).

She grew as the tournament progressed, most notably fighting back from a set and 4-0 down against Victoria Azarenka in the quarterfinals when she was facing points to go 5-0 behind.

Her semifinal against Na Li went to two tiebreaks, and she responded to being broken three times in the second set of her final against Henin with a resounding deciding set to clinch the championship.

There is nobody better in the world right now than Serena Williams, and the outlook is very good for the rest of the year.

Justine Henin Still Has 'It'

If there were any doubts about how Henin would fit back into the game, her performance at the Australian Open removed any doubts.

She showed the skill and maturity of a champion in reaching the finals, securing her place the hard way after entering as a wild card. Nobody can say that Henin backed into the championship game.

She knocked off in-form Elena Dementieva in the second round, rallied from a set down to beat 27th seed Alisa Kleybanova in the third, dispatched world No. 15 and Auckland champion Yanina Wickmayer in the fourth, and defeated No. 19 Nadia Petrova in straight sets in the quarters.

She gave Serena one of her toughest matches of the tournament in the finals and she should be proud of the way she battled. After a run to the finals in Brisbane, it’s safe to say there’s still a lot in Henin’s tank.

The Long and the Short Of It

Swiss teenager Stefanie Voegele showed her staying power in an epic battle with Hungarian Melinda Czink.

Competing in her maiden Aussie Open and just her fourth Grand Slam, Voegele got locked in a nail-biting contest that lasted 41 games and more than three hours.

Voegele won the war 7-5, 6-7(5), 9-7. In doing so, she helped break last year’s record for most games played in a women’s singles match set when Serena Williams defeated Dementieva 6-7(4), 7-5, 8-6.

On the other side of the coin, there were some lopsided results down under, including a trio of 6-0, 6-1 contests and numerous matches where the victor lost just two games.

While Nadia Petrova’s demolition of Kim Clijsters marks arguably the best performance of the fortnight, my winner is No. 24 seed Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez who showed no compassion against Russian qualifier Evgeniya Rodina, brushing her aside with a double bagel in 54 minutes.

The result wasn’t as impressive as Petrova’s third round romp, but 6-0, 6-0 thrashings only come around a handful of times each year. Last year you could count the number of them using just your fingers and thumbs.

China Leaves Its Mark in Melbourne

Li will make history on Monday when she becomes the first Chinese player to break into the world’s top 10.

Li’s strong run in Melbourne carried her to her first semifinal appearance at a Grand Slam and catapulted her from her No. 15 spot to the upper echelons of the women’s game.

But it wasn't just Li who made waves in the women's draw. Jie Zheng also made it through to the semifinals, marking the first time where two Chinese women have been in the final four of a major at the same time.

Neither advanced to the final, but they reminded the world that Asian players are becoming a force to watch out for.

Sister, Sister. Family Rivalries Reignited in Oz

Three sets of sisters entered the main draw in Sydney. While family bragging rights were probably not at the forefront of their minds, it’s always pleasing to out-perform a sibling, especially when you are as competitive as these women.

Alona Bondarenko leapfrogged younger sister Kateryna in the WTA rankings just one day before the tournament began, and she then crept further ahead by making it into the second week at Melbourne Park.

While Kateryna (seeded No. 30) lost in straight sets to Britain’s No. 1 Elena Baltacha in the second round, No. 31 Alona upset No. 8 Jelena Jankovic in the round three before falling to Zheng in the round four.

Unlike with Alona and Kateryna, the Radwanska sisters are not quite so evenly matched. While 20-year-old Agnieszka is ranked No. 10 in the world, teenage sister Urszula is down at No. 72 but climbing quickly.

Agnieszka has the edge in almost every category over her sister: Grand Slam experience, Olympic experience, Tour titles, and ITF trophies. As their rankings would suggest, she cemented her superiority at the Australian Open.

While unseeded Urszula drew Serena Williams in the first round, Radwanska, as the No. 10 seed, did not have to face a seed until the third round. Even though she lost to Francesca Schiavone, I don’t think there’s any doubt over who is top dog in the Radwanska household right now.

But the obvious golden duo right now, and probably for some time, is Serena and Venus Williams. Venus fell at the quarterfinals to Li in three sets after failing to serve out the match ahead a set and 5-4.

Serena meanwhile cruised into the quarterfinals before ever facing a real challenge. She battled from a set and 4-0 down against Victoria Azarenka to make the final four, and she then fought a dogged match with Li to edge into the finals on the strength of two tiebreakers—a final she would win on Saturday night in three sets against Henin.

Underlining their superiority, the Williams sisters also won the finals of the women’s doubles against top seeds Cara Black and Liezel Huber.

Seedings: Relatively Meaningless?

There are two ways to look at this. You can either say that there is more depth in the women’s game, or you can say that the truly “elite” players just aren’t as dominant compared to their male counterparts of a similar world ranking.

Either way you look at it, the result is often the same. If you are not one of the top 32 players in the world in the men’s game, there is little chance of making the semifinals. If you’re not one of the top 32 in the women’s game, well, fear not, because you still have more than a puncher’s chance of making a late run in a Grand Slam. Are seedings meaningful?

At this year’s Australian Open, there were three unseeded women in the quarterfinals. This is not a new phenomenon. Four women outside the world’s top 32 made it to the quarters at the US Open, and two made it to the quarterfinals at Wimbledon, Roland Garros and the 2009 Australian Open.

Looking at the men however, all eight quarterfinal sports have been filled by seeds in four of the last five Grand Slams.

Fans can either say that this devalues the women’s game, because the matches in the latter stages of the competition aren’t being contested by the very best in the world, or they can say that it adds intrigue and depth.

For me, I think it keeps the game fresh and exciting, outlined by the fact that Belgian's Yanina Wickmayer and Henin performed well. Wickmayer, forced to enter through qualifying, and Henin, a wild card, added an extra depth to the initial rounds of competition.

I felt bad for Dementieva that she drew Henin so early on, but it was good for the sport inasmuch as it drew attention to the tournament at a time when casual fans may have overlooked it. There will always be the very top tier of players who make it into the semifinals and finals, and that is okay because it adds a sense of credibility to the game. But the fact that only three of the quarterfinalists were in the top eight in the world rankings showed that anyone can beat anyone else on any given day.

In a game that can sometimes seem stagnant and stale, it's encouraging to see different people on the biggest stages.