Serena Williams needed a coffee to get going in her first match Down Under this season, but she was at full steam by the time she lifted the Australian Open trophy.
Williams insisted she hadn't expected to win the title, given some of her lackluster performances coming in. Then the 33-year-old American did what she has done so many times -- got through some tough matches in the first week, played through some physical problems, and produced a dominant performance in the final, this time against Maria Sharapova, to win the tournament for the sixth time.
In three of the five previous years Williams has been the Australian Open champion, she has gone on to win another major that season. In 2003 she coupled the Australian Open with Wimbledon, and she did the same in 2009 and 2010. In 2015, Williams is again looking at this Australian Open win as a good start to build on.
"My goal every year is to win a Slam. So now I've done it," Williams said, contrasting it with the previous season, when she fell before the quarterfinals at every major until winning the US Open.
"I was under a lot of pressure because I was at the Open and I was 0-3. I had no choice but to win the Open," she said with a laugh. "It takes a lot of pressure off my shoulders. I'm a Grand Slam winner this year already, so now I can relax and play better."
Given that she attributed those first three Grand Slam defeats in 2014 to the pressure of chasing her 18th major, a free-swinging Williams is a formidable prospect for opponents.
Her coach, Patrick Mouratoglou, said that staying "fit and motivated" is the challenge for Williams, and it's almost the only thing that can stop more majors from coming her way.
Injuries have been a frequent problem for Williams, though she chooses to see the time spent sidelined as extra time to play on. "I've had some odd injuries, and a couple -- several -- surgeries. I had to take a year off, so that added a year to my career maybe," she said.
As for how long she will keep wanting to play, Williams said, "I don't know. I do know that I'm having fun. I love winning championships. I love holding trophies."
One thing Serena does not see as an issue is her age, even though she already has set records as the oldest No. 1 and second-oldest Grand Slam winner in the Open era. With almost no consistent challengers and still one of the most physically imposing players on tour, Williams hardly sees herself getting dated. "I can play as long as I want to," she said.
She is, however, planning to play less this year, having spoken of mental fatigue the previous two seasons, which were among the few times she has played a full schedule in her career. On Wednesday she announced that she would be returning to Indian Wells, though, for the first time since 2001, when she was booed in the final after Venus Williams withdrew prior to the sisters' semifinal match. But beyond that, with her No. 1 ranking now secure, Serena is looking to the French Open. A year ago, she fell in the second round, followed by a third-round defeat at Wimbledon.
"So I think, OK, now that I got this under my belt. I'm a little more comfortable with my ranking now," she said in her postmatch news conference in Australia. "Now I can really move. Like I did so bad last year at Roland Garros, and Wimbledon as well. So those are the two I really have my eye on, because I would like to do better at those."
Both Williams and Mouratoglou emphasize that they are looking at these tournaments as individual titles, not as the next one in her Grand Slam collection. But there is little question that increasing the count is her biggest goal. Tied for third with 19 majors, Williams is going for Steffi Graf's Open era record of 22 Grand Slams, and Margaret Court's record of 24 Grand Slams.
There are plenty of players standing in the way, with an increasing number of up-and-comers and more seasoned talents showing that they can push Williams even at the bigger events.
But at the moment, it is in the history books where Williams is finding her biggest rivals.
