Pre-Oz Open Women's Analysis

Will the new world number one please stand-up? We are all waiting for a worthy world number one on the WTA. There hasn't been a viable year-end champion since...we can't even remember! Will it be Petra Kvitova? She has a Golden Opportunity in Australia! Her two biggest threats (Williams and Clijsters) are injured and she has a good head-to-head record with the only other two women who look ready to threaten (Na Li and Victoria Azarenka). That said the speed of the Australian Open courts do not help Kvitova and we at TNC can't help but cast a keen eye on Azarenka.

Doesn't it just seem like the cards are setting up perfectly for Victoria? We feel like it might be 'Now or Never' for the woman nicknamed Vika. She's playing great, in the zone ball, early in the season and there are a rash of injuries heading into the first major of the year.

The biggest names to claim victories so far in 2012 are Jie Zheng and Kaia Kanepi. Names that don't exactly instill fear in the hearts of WTA players. Taking nothing away from Kanepi, in particular who got through four pretty big names in easy fashion to claim the Brisbane International. If anyone is our dark horse going into the Oz Open it has to be her!

Hobart isn't likely to tell us much about who might claim the trophy in Melbourne, but perhaps the Sydney champ will and given the dearth of competition showing up healthy,  Azarenka may just end up being the woman to beat! We will wait for the draw to make a strong prediction, but Azarenka is a definite front runner. If she draws Kvitova in the semifinals then Vika might be the 2012 best bet.

Serena Williams you ask? What about her? We know she can win anything she enters and she has a great record in Melbourne, but for the first time we have doubts about Serena. They may be quickly erased when the Open starts on Monday, but Serena is now over 30 and coming in on a bum-ankle. Injuries to an aged player are much more lethal than they are to the young, but we know that in her favour, she came to Australia in maybe her best condition since 2004. We also know that like the top 3 players on the guy's side, Serena (and Kim Clijsters) are veterans who know how to cope with the pressure of a grand slam and they can never be counted out.

Pre-Draw Predictions
Favourites: Kvitova, Azarenka
Second Tier: Serena Williams, Clijsters, Na Li
Dark Horse: Kanepi