Thursday 23 January 2014 10:29, UK
Given the fact that Serena Williams has won 17 Grand Slam titles, the 32-year-old won't be around forever.
Eugenie Bouchard (Sky Bet odds: 100/1) WTA's newcomer of 2013 is a former Wimbledon junior singles and doubles champion who has soared to a career-high 32. The 19-year-old arrives in Melbourne as the only female teen ranked in the top 100 and her rise is all the more remarkable considering she was ranked at 144 towards the end of 2012. The girl from Westmount, Quebec, made her first grand slam main draw appearance at the French Open but went out to Maria Sharapova in the second-round. At Wimbledon, she recorded a career best win against former No 1 Ana Ivanovic on Centre Court and made it as far as the third-round. In October, she reached her first WTA Tour final in Osaka, Japan, but despite winning the first set, the experienced Sam Stosur came through to win in the decider. Bouchard sports a long and lean frame, bright smile and golden locks and if she continues to show the same kind of skill, athleticism and aggression in her game, she has every chance of causing and upset or two in Australia. Madison Keys (Sky Bet odds: 250/1) The big-serving 18-year-old finished 2013 on a high note with a semi-final appearance in Osaka, Japan. Three quarter-final appearances in Sydney, Charleston and Birmingham have helped the Rock Island native close in on the top 30. At 5ft 10in she is still growing and looks to have everything in the locker, including a monster serve and some ferocious groundstrokes. Keys has wonderful balance and her court coverage can compete with some of the very best in the game. Her best grand slam appearance came at Wimbledon where she destroyed British No 2 Heather Watson before bowing out in the third-round to the unorthodox Agnieszka Radwanska. Madison may hold the key to the future of women's tennis in America and clearly has the weapons to be a top 10 player. Magdalena Rybarikova (Sky Bet odds: 250/1) & Dominika Cibulkova (Sky Bet odds: 250/1) The Slovak duo have been enjoying a successful last couple of years for the small mountainous European nation. The diminutive Cibulkova stands at just 5ft 3in tall but carries tremendous power which has helped her shoot up the rankings to 23. She was responsible for one of the upsets of last season when she took out top seed Victoria Azarenka at the French Open on her way to the quarter-finals. Most of Cibulkova's best results have come on the clay, although her success at Carlsbad in 2012 and Stanford in 2013 suggests she can compete on the hardcourts of Melbourne. Rybarikova, ranked 37, has been more successful in terms of WTA titles, having won in Birmingham, Memphis and has enjoyed winning back-to-back titles in Washington DC. The lean and leggy player has a beautiful two-handed backhand and has a smooth and smart game which includes a solid serve and variation to her groundstrokes. She arrives in Melbourne having recovered from recent back and wrist injuries to take her place in the draw for the first slam of the year.
