Australian Open 2012: Serena Williams and Big Names Who Won't Win
The first Grand Slam of the 2012 season is not going to produce a big-name winner, at least on the women's side.
We might see these women for several rounds, but they're ultimately going to fall short of the Australian Open title. If they're going to win a Grand Slam in 2012, it will come over the summer in France, at Wimbledon or in the United States.
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While she still has a lot of talent, that's not going to win Grand Slams. That can win some matches, but it takes something else to win a Grand Slam. That's something that's only going to come with playing a more rigorous schedule than Sharapova plays.
She hasn't won a Grand Slam title since 2008. That might change this year, but it won't be here. I would look for that at Wimbledon and the U.S. Open, which both suit her game better and come later in the year.
Sharapova fans can rejoice about one thing. We will be seeing her for a while. The drawing isn't out yet, but it's hard to imagine her not making it to the quarterfinals or better. But her luck will run out there.
A lot of the same logic around Sharapova applies here. Williams will last a long time because she's flat out better than the majority of the people she'll be playing against. But eventually, the rust factor will be too much to overcome.
The other thing that has me concerned with Williams is her ankle. Even nagging ankle injuries take a long time to overcome, and that's not even accounting how much stress playing tennis puts on the ankle.
Like Sharapova, Williams is a good bet to win a Grand Slam this year if she plays a consistent schedule, without extended periods of time off. That will come at Wimbledon or the U.S. Open.
Caroline Wozniacki
Wozniacki has a lot of things going for her. She's the No. 1-ranked player in the world, which comes from a remarkable run of consistency. But what she doesn't have is the game to win a Grand Slam. That's not going to change here.
She'll have another quality run. Don't look for Wozniacki to be knocked out in any of the first few rounds or anything, but don't expect to see her in the finals, let alone win them.
These drawbacks aren't the only reasons that Sharapova, Williams and Wozniacki won't win. Another reason is that Samantha Stosur will. Despite winning the U.S. Open and being an Australian, Stosur is flying a little under the radar here.
That will no longer be the case when this tournament is over. Stosur's rocket serve will be the driving force behind a second straight Grand Slam Title.
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