Caroline Wozniacki’s love life is booming, at least its online representation suggests that, and her fashion designer Stella McCartney opted for the color of passion for the world No.1’s Australian Open. Wozniacki accessorized the red dress with a heart-shaped Danish flag pendant that her boyfriend Rory McIlroy gave her for Christmas.

Adidas Adizero used a shade of red for their predominantly peach dress worn by Ana Ivanovic, Daniela Hantuchova and Sorana Cirstea.

Serena Williams is wearing a blue Nike dress with wide tank straps and pleated bottom.

The American opened her Australian Open campaign with custom-made headband and sneakers celebrating Black History Month.

Notice the cute small balls adorning the socks!

Petra Kvitova is, as always, wearing a two-piece Nike outfit, style similar to her 2011 apparel.

Maria Sharapova is wearing a white Nike Maria Statement Slam Dress with electric green straps and a black Nike logo.

Fila is now all over the place, well-represented by Kim Clijsters, Svetlana Kuznetsova and the new additions to the family, Jelena Jankovic and Vera Zvonareva.

Defending champion Kim Clijsters is working a black V-neck shirt with lemon accents and the same shirt in white. A simple black skirt is always there.

Svetlana Kuznetsova is dressed similarly, exposing her "Pain doesn’t kill me, I kill the pain" tattoo.

Jelena Jankovic is still in her first month of promoting Fila, after her three-year contract with Anta has expired, and at the Australian Open she's looking great in an orange Center Court dress.

Another new Fila member, Vera Zvonareva, who used to wear K-Swiss, is in the neutral tones. Sweat marks are spoiling the image, though.

Bethanie Mattek Sands is not exciting us this time. Her look is absolutely toned down. In the photo below you can see her teamed up with Lacoste-clad Jarmila Gajdosova, wearing a very regular Under Armour long-sleeve bright yellow shirt and a white skirt. For her singles match in the first round, Bethanie wore a simple green tank.

Mentioning Lacoste, Samantha Stosur left the brand to sign with Asics, but her white Asics dress didn't get much exposure as the home favorite suffered an emotionally-painful upset in the very first round.

Whose Australian Open 2012 style is your favorite? For me, number ones are Ana Ivanovic, Daniela Hantuchova and Sorana Cirstea in the Adidas Adizero dress (Cirstea upset Stosur in it!), because of the daring combination of colors and a signature modern yet simple design of the line. The runner-up position I would award to Serena Williams' look. (photos: Adidas, Tidalist, Slice, Australian Open, Life)

Serena Williams, Maria Sharapova and Petra Kvitova didn't sweat much in their third round victories at the Australian Open.

Serena's opponent Greta Arn was the closest to challenging the American in the beginning of the first set, when she had a break point in the opening game, but that was all from the Hungarian who was quickly overpowered 6-1 6-1. Despite that, Serena claims that she's nowhere near her desired form and is just playing through the rust.

Sharapova was also quick, losing just three games to Angelique Kerber to reach the fourth round 6-1 6-2. The Russian has actually lost just five games so far at the tournament.

Kvitova bageled Maria Kirilenko in the first set of their third round encounter, and after one more game Kirilenko retired from the match with a left thigh injury sustained already in the first game of the match.

All the fourth round pairs are now determined. Serena Williams will play Ekatarina Makarova, who upset Vera Zvonareva 7-6(7) 6-1, Maria Sharapova will play Sabine Lisicki, the 2-6 6-4 6-2 conqueror of Svetlana Kuznetsova, Sarra Errani, who defeated Sorana Cirstea 6-7(6) 6-0 6-2, will play Zheng Jie, the 6-3 6-3 winner over Marion Bartoli, and Petra Kvitova will face Ana Ivanovic, who advanced by beating Vania King 6-3 6-4. The first half of fourth round clashes was determined yesterday. (photo: Ralf Reinecke)

The 2012 has gained its full swing with the Australian Open, and our loyal contributor and reader John Bolan would like to share his predictions of how the Top 10 rankings will look like at the end of the season. Don't forget to share your Top 10 picks in the comments, as John will send the person whose predictions turn out to be the closest to the actual 2012 year-end Top 10 a picture with an autograph of a Top 10 player. Nice incentive!

Once again, it is time to pick the Top 10 players in the order they will finish on December 31, 2012. We have had a few weeks to observe which players have played well this year. Logic, injuries and where the players finished for 2011 are the main criteria used to make these picks.

My pick for number 1 in 2012 is Victoria Azarenka (I also picked Victoria for number 1 in 2011). She squeaked by Maria Sharapova for third place last year, but is definitely a rising young star whose time has come. Maria is my pick for the runner-up spot – number 2. Let’s hope she stays healthy for the remainder of the year.

Three players who have already been injured this year are Kim Clijsters, Serena Williams and Andrea Petkovic. Do we take a chance and put any of them in the Top 10? Kim is my #3 pick and Serena #4. Although Andrea is the most sensational player in women’s tennis, she is seriously injured and will miss months on the tour in 2012.

My #5 pick is Petra Kvitova. Some say she is now the best player, but she will need to prove it.

Three very consistent players from 2011 – Caroline Wozniacki #6, Agnieszka Radwanska #7 and Vera Zvonareva #8 are my next 3 picks. Caroline’s personal life will interfere with her tennis game in 2012. She will lose her #1 ranking after two years in the top spot.

Li Na is anything but consistent. When she is on she is very good. She’s my number 9 pick.

Number 10 is Sabine Lisicki. She is very strong with one of the fastest serves in the WTA. In 2012 she will finally make her goal of a Top 10 player. I was one of a dozen fans to watch her comeback begin on the first day of the Miami tournament last March. She has played great tennis since then.

I doubt many of you will agree with me on these picks! Use the comments and make your picks! The person closest to the actual finish will get one of my autographed pictures of a player who finishes in the Top 10. Good luck!

Reminder: How accurate was John in 2011? Check out his November reflections on his January 2011 choices.

Thank you, John, for contributing with this article and offering to award a Women's Tennis Blog's reader a with valuable autographed WTA picture.

Following a 6-3 6-2 victory over Tamira Paszek and going 46-0 in Grand Slam openers, Serena Williams defeated Barbora Zahlavova Strycova 6-0 6-4 in the second round of the Australian Open and won an impressive 500th match in her career. Even more so, it’s Serena’s 16th consecutive match win at the Australian Open, the tournament she has won five times.
Here’s what the 13-time Grand Slam champion, who now doesn’t even know what to pick for her next milestone, said about the achievement:

It's great. I haven't even thought about it. It's like the ultimate. It's really, really cool. The first thing I asked, of course, Is there anyone that achieved a thousand?  I guess not. I never will get there either. But it's really cool.  500 is a lot of matches to play, let alone to win, so it's pretty cool.

Two points before the end of the match against Zahlavova Strycova, Serena twisted her right ankle, but luckily there was no pain and it was a different ankle from the one she injured this month in Brisbane. After the match, Serena assured the fans that both her ankles are doing good.

Additional info: Together with Andy Roddick Serena is playing the mixed doubles and they are facing top seeds Kveta Peschke and Mike Bryan in the first round. Serena already has to Grand Slam mixed doubles titles to her name, but she hasn’t played that type of competition at a major tournament since 1999.

Hey everyone. The Australian Open is about to start and this year the field seems to be wide open without clear favorites. Also many of the top players are struggling with injuries and Andrea Petkovic already had to withdraw from the event because of a back injury. In this article I want to give you my view on who has the best chances to win the tournament.

I decided to pick out four players who I believe have the biggest chance to win this year’s Australian Open title.

1. PETRA KVITOVA

Petra Kvitova is currently in a close battle with Caroline Wozniacki for the world number 1 ranking. She had her breakthrough winning Wimbledon last year and I think she has very good chances to become the most successful player in 2012.

Her game is big, she played well in the warm up matches to the tournament, and she seems to have the confidence and belief now.

CHECK OUT HOW WELL KVITOVA IS PLAYING IN THIS VIDEO

2. KIM CLIJSTERS

Clijsters is the defending champion and in my opinion always a threat at any Grand Slam. She had a tough second half of the season in 2011, where she did not play much at all because of several injuries.

Having had such a long preparation could be an advantage for her because she is probably in great shape right now. At the warm-up tournament in Brisbane she seemed to be in strong form but had to pull out because of a hip injury. The latest reports are saying that she is practicing at 100% though and therefore I think she is one of the favourites to win the title.

3. SERENA WILLIAMS

As usual it is difficult to assess what kind of form Serena Williams is in for the Australian Open. She has not played much before the tournament but she obviously likes the tournament, having won it five times in the past.

In a recent interview I heard Brad Gilbert, famous coach and expert, talk about how hard Serena was preparing and how well she looked out on the practice courts. An ankle injury forced her to pull out of Brisbane but she has also been seen practicing hard on site in Melbourne. She has not played many tournament matches in a while so it will be crucial for her to get through the first couple of rounds.

If she gets through the first couple of rounds and stays healthy she will definitely be one of the top favourites for the title.

4. MARIA SHARAPOVA

Sharapova also had to pull out of Brisbane due to an ankle injury. Nevertheless she has been seen practicing regularly on-site at the Aussie Open since then and said that she is confident she can play the tournament.

Sharapova played quite well last year. She is working hard and seems very focused on her goal to win another Grand Slam. As usual a lot depends on serve though. If she had time during the off-season to work on it and get her motion a bit more fluid, then she has a good chance at competing for the title at this tournament.

OTHER NOTABLE PLAYERS

Apart from these four, there are many more players with realistic chances to win the title at this year’s Aussie Open. Let’s have a look at some of the other in-form players.

VICTORIA AZARENKA

Azarenka is currently number 3 in the world. So far she has not had much success at the Grand Slams though. She plays well but I am not sure if her game is big enough to beat some of the top players like Kvitova and Williams when they are at their best late in a Grand Slam.

That being said, she has just won the Sydney warm-up event, beating Li Na in the finals, and played excellent tennis. With so many of the top players slightly injured as well, she could have a real chance to go deep into the tournament with her solid game.

CAROLINE WOZNIACKI

Wozniacki is still the number 1 player in the world but as we all know she has not won a Grand Slam yet.

At the end of last year Caroline hired Ricardo Sanchez as her new coach. I think she made a good move in hiring a new coach to try and make a few minor but important changes to her game. It’s really tough to assess what kind of an impact Sanchez will have, but it is definitely a good sign that Caroline hired someone new and is looking to make some changes to her game.

Caroline was also slightly injured in the warm-up event before the Aussie Open. That combined with the uncertainty as to what they are trying to do with her game, I don’t see her in the group of the top favorites to win the tournament.

SAM STOSUR

Sam Stosur is a player that I expect to do really well in 2012. Her game is huge and she also had a breakthrough last year, winning the US Open. She definitely has the game to do well at the tournament but she seems to be quite nervous performing in front of the Australian crowd. She has never gotten past the 4th round at this tournament.

If she can get her nerves under control she should do well though.

LI NA

Li Na was a finalist last year at the Australian Open. She won the French Open last year and then had a tough couple of months later in the year, where she played poorly. Possibly she was not able to handle the publicity that she got back home in China from winning a Grand Slam.

She showed some excellent tennis in the Sydney warm-up tournament though and I think she will show up playing well at the Australian Open.

LI NA WITH A GOOD WIN OVER PETRA KVITOVA IN SYDNEY

THE DRAW

The draw was released on Friday and there are a couple of interesting things to note.

1. Caroline Wozniacki in the top draw is facing some really tough opponents. She could face Jelena Jankovic in the fourth round and either Li Na or Kim Clijsters in the quarterfinals.

2. The second quarter is a bit weaker in my opinion. Here Victoria Azarenka and Agnieszka Radwanska should have the best chances to get through.

3. The third quarter is quite exciting as well with Maria Sharapova, Serena Williams, and Vera Zvonareva in it. Serena is my favorite in this one but Maria has a good chance of getting through as well of course.

4. In the fourth quarter Petra Kvitova is the clear favourite to me. Sam Stosur is in there as well and it will have to be seen how she handles the pressure of playing in front of her home crowd. Ana Ivanovic and Marion Bartoli are two more players that could make it out of this quarter.

Alright guys. So much for my Australian Open Preview. It should be an exciting tournament and please let me know your own thoughts in the comment section below!

Florian Meier runs the website OnlineTennisInstruction.com where he specializes in helping tennis players improve their game with video tennis tips. (photos: © Neal Trousdale)

The season for Serena started in June at Eastbourne and the American finally gave justice to Nike's efforts, promoting her pink ruffle dress intended for the grand stage of Roland Garros.

Serena was trying to defend her Wimbledon title in a deep V-neck dress with black accenting lines. The outfit was complete with a stylish accompanying jumper in the length of the dress.

During the US Open Series of tournaments Serena wore a simple elbow length sleeve shirt in green and a nice sporty black skirt.

For the US Open Nike always prepares day and night outfits for its biggest stars and this year by reaching the final Serena had plenty of occasions to give both her dresses exposure. The great tennis event in New York inspired Nike to cloth Serena, as an all-American athlete, in red and blue.

To have a complete picture of the 2011 Nike tennis looks, check out our retrospections of Maria Sharapova's dresses and Petra Kvitova's sporty two-piece outfits. However, if you enjoy some extravagance, explore what Serena's sister Venus wore on the courts in 2011.

In addition, we already know how Serena will look at the 2012 Australian Open!

Do you like Serena's style? Which 2011 dress is your favorite? I would pick the Wimbledon dress with the nice jumper. (photos: Liannedijkhuizen, ciac123, © Neal Trousdale, tennis buzz, iShot71)

Images of Serena William's Rally Statement dress for the 2012 Australian Open have surfaced and from what we can see Nike will continue to take the path they've been following in the recent years for Serena – sporty dresses, pretty and simple designs in one predominant color.

I like how Serena looks in well-fitting dresses with few accessories in design (no ruffles, excess material and stuff) and in colors that are not bland. Striking green, blue, red, pink, etc. with touches of some other vibrant color for contrast, or even only black or white, perfectly suit Serena's skin tone and character.

Soon I will post a retrospection of all Serena's 2011 dresses, so stay tuned for more Nike fashion! In the meantime, check out outfits Maria Sharapova, Ana Ivanovic and Caroline Wozniacki are expected to wear at the first Grand Slam of the 2012 season. (source: DeShawn Besabella)

Never in their eight previous matches in the period of eight years, from 2002 to 2010, had Francesca Schiavone beaten Venus Williams, and at the December 3rd exhibition event in Milan, the Italian managed to beat both the Williams sisters, on top of showing her dancing skills by entertaining the 11,000 crowd to Michael Jackson's "Beat It" with Flavia Pennetta.

Schiavone defeated Venus 7-5 7-3, and then Serena 7-3 8-10 8-6. Pennetta also beat Venus, 7-6 7-2, but lost to Serena 6-8 7-3 7-3. The Williams sisters won the doubles 3-7 8-6 8-6.

Neither of the Williams sisters played competitive tennis since the US Open, however they did play another exhibition match recently, last month in Columbia, and Venus defeated Serena 6-4 7-6(5). (source: ESPN)

Serena Williams now has a place in the National Portrait Gallery in Washington, D.C. in a new show celebrating successful African-Americans from various fields. "The Black List" opens Friday and features 50 photographs from Timothy Greenfield-Sanders' project that also featured a 2008 HBO film.

Here is a clip from the movie, where Williams talks about how awkward she often feels in the tennis world where most people around her are white (especially when she travels to Russia) and also explains how her dedicated family helped her cross all the boundaries and financial shortages to become the legend that she is now. About her tennis game, Serena mentions how she’s frustrated by the fact that people always point out only the power of her game and fail to acknowledge the strategy and mental part. (via Beyond the Baseline)

As Tennis Served Fresh reports the news from TMZ, Serena Williams' assistant suspected a possible burglar of a person from an unspecified tennis association coming to test Serena for drugs and the tennis star got so scared that she fled "to a panic room inside her LA mansion". Serena has a panic room, if I understand well?

The assistant saw the suspected intruder on security cameras and called 911 around 6 am last Wednesday. When police came, they realized it was a false alarm.

It's strange that Serena's representatives are not making any comments and it's even more awkward that Serena's made no mention of the scary experience on Twitter. (photo: Tennis Canada)