... but only if she's fully fit
Saturday 30 January 2016 17:36, UK
Serena Williams will win the next three majors in 2016 and equal Margaret Court's Grand Slam record of 24, but only if she is fully fit, says Barry Cowan.
For the second time in as many majors, Williams fell short of equalling Steffi Graf's Open-era record of 22 Grand Slam singles titles, as she suffered a shock 6-4 3-6 6-4 defeat the hands of Angelique Kerber in the Australian Open final on Saturday.
Williams won the Australian Open, French Open and Wimbledon titles last year before being stunned by Roberta Vinci in the US Open semi-finals.
After being so close to a calendar-year Grand Slam, she battled a knee complaint and called an end to her 2015 season in October before pulling out of January's Hopman Cup.
Top-ranked Williams, who has won 21 major titles, demolished Maria Sharapova and Agnieszka Radwanska to book a spot in her seventh Melbourne final where Kerber defied the odds by producing a superb performance to win.
"Given how easily and impressively she got to the final she was up against a player who had never been to a final before and usually the odds are stacked heavily in favour of a serial Grand Slam champion, but I think Kerber played a brilliant match, and I think Serena didn't play at her best," Cowan told Sky Sports.
She'll be my favourite to win the next three majors if she's fit, but she does need matches, and ultimately that was the decisive factor in her not winning in Melbourne.
"She had doubts coming into the tournament - she had so few matches - and actually she hadn't been pushed. For the first time she was pushed in the final she just wasn't match tight which was a big surprise and coming into the tournament I thought she was undercooked.
"I didn't think she would win it, but as soon as [Victoria] Azarenka lost I thought it was Serena's, but hats off to the German.
"You never know how you're going to perform in your first Grand Slam and no one really felt that she was going to be a Grand Slam champion, but the women's game keeps throwing up [surprise winners].
"She had nothing to lose and that might be her one and only Grand Slam final.
"For Serena, you could look at the negatives and say well, it's the second major that she has lost and only the fifth final she has ever lost in a Grand Slam.
"Given where she was before the tournament with those injuries at the Hopman Cup and the fact that she hadn't played since she lost to Vinci in the semi-final of the US Open, I think it's been a great run.
"If she had more matches under her belt she probably would have felt more comfortable in the latter stages.
"She'll be my favourite to win the next three majors if she's fit, but she does need matches, and ultimately that was the decisive factor in her not winning in Melbourne."
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