{"id":23169,"date":"2020-01-18T18:27:54","date_gmt":"2020-01-18T23:27:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordontennis.com\/?p=23169"},"modified":"2026-03-24T17:59:39","modified_gmt":"2026-03-24T21:59:39","slug":"can-serena-equal-the-record-this-season","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/tennis\/2020\/01\/18\/can-serena-equal-the-record-this-season\/","title":{"rendered":"Can Serena Equal the Record this season?"},"content":{"rendered":"

With the new year in full swing and the first Grand Slam underway, it\u2019s about time to take another look at Serena Williams\u2019 quest for that elusive 24<\/span>th<\/span> Grand Slam title. Can she do it in Melbourne? Or will she have to wait until Wimbledon?<\/span><\/p>\n

The desire is there<\/b><\/h2>\n

Last year, we discussed how we felt that perhaps Serena wanted that record-equaling title <\/span>just a little too much<\/span><\/a>. As we said then, there\u2019s no doubt that she is quite possibly one of the greatest tennis players of all time. But in her own mind, she\u2019ll never be the best until she beats Margaret Court\u2019s all-time record.<\/span><\/p>\n

The desire to prove to both herself and the tennis-loving public that she is the best is certainly there. Unfortunately, this desperation is what hindered her last season and saw her lose her cool on several occasions. But what about this time around?<\/span><\/p>\n

A different mindset<\/b><\/h2>\n

Anyone who watched Serena win in Auckland could see that the talent and hunger is still evident in her game. However, we think that there may be a slight change in mindset as she takes on a new season.<\/span><\/p>\n

Last year, Serena was desperate to equal the record and then beat it. She seemed to treat every Grand Slam as her last chance which suggests that she may have been planning to retire had she broken the record. Of course, she\u2019ll deny this to the hilt, but it\u2019s possible.<\/span><\/p>\n

With the season just beginning, she seems to have lost that desperation that was there last year. This could be down to a personal decision to keep playing until she finally breaks the record. If this is the case, then there\u2019s no impending retirement looming and she can simply get back to doing what she does best \u2013 winning matches and enjoying her tennis.<\/span><\/p>\n

Her chances this season<\/b><\/h2>\n

 <\/p>\n

A look at the odds for the Australian Open would suggest that Serena is a shoo-in for her 24th Grand Slam in Melbourne. If you’re inclined to put your money on her then online odds comparison service <\/span>Oddschecker recommends using a bonus bet<\/span> with Sportsbet. And to be honest, having seen her performance in Auckland, we imagine that it\u2019s a pretty safe bet.<\/span><\/p>\n

However, to dismiss her competition out of hand is harsh on the likes of Osaka and Pliskova who have just as much a chance as Serena. In fact, if fate puts Osaka and Williams together at any stage in the tournament, we fancy the Japanese world no.3 to win.<\/span><\/p>\n

Then there\u2019s the question of the air quality in Melbourne right now. Serena needs complete focus if she is to win on Australian soil and the talk of poor air quality and the bushfires could prove to be a major distraction.<\/span><\/p>\n

If she fails to win in Melbourne, she\u2019ll have another few months to prepare for the French Open. The problem here is that, although she has three titles to her name, the French Open <\/span>isn\u2019t the happiest of hunting grounds for her<\/span><\/a>. Add to that the fact that there\u2019s a lot of tennis to be played between now and then and we suspect that she\u2019ll have a better chance of glory at Wimbledon.<\/span><\/p>\n

Just a few weeks after the French Open final, Wimbledon gets underway and many experts feel that this represents Serena\u2019s best opportunity to add to her Grand Slam tally. Playing on grass will suit Serena better this year as age has limited her ability to compete at the same consistent level as in previous years. If we were backing her to win any Grand Slam this season, this is the one we\u2019d go for.<\/span><\/p>\n

Her final chance at glory will come in the US Open at the end of the summer. It\u2019s hard to predict what\u2019s going to happen here, but if things pan out the way we believe they will, Serena could be playing for a record 25<\/span>th<\/span> Grand Slam in what could be the final major tournament of her career. It only sweetens the deal that it\u2019s on home ground.<\/span><\/p>\n

So can she equal the record? Well, if anyone can, Serena can. The only question now is when.<\/span><\/p>\n

Main Photo from Pixbay<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

With the new year in full swing and the first Grand Slam underway, it\u2019s about time to take another look at Serena Williams\u2019 quest for that elusive 24th Grand Slam title. Can she do it in Melbourne? Or will she have to wait until Wimbledon? The desire is there Last year, we discussed how we […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2561,"featured_media":23171,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[4,2],"tags":[205,632,10349,25],"class_list":["post-23169","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-wta","category-featured","tag-australian-open","tag-margaret-court","tag-most-grand-slam-titles","tag-serena-williams"],"modified_by":"Michael Kovacs, ADMIN","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/tennis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23169","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/tennis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/tennis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/tennis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2561"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/tennis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=23169"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/tennis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23169\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":100270,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/tennis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23169\/revisions\/100270"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/tennis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/23171"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/tennis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23169"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/tennis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23169"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/tennis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23169"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}