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As Serena Williams Enters Australian Open, Expectations Aren’t Quite So Grand

Serena Williams’s most recent official match did not end well — unless you were a Roberta Vinci fan — as Williams crashed out of last year’s United States Open in the semifinals without completing the Grand Slam.

Four months later, reassurance remains elusive, but with the Australian Open set to begin on Monday, Williams’s coach, Patrick Mouratoglou, said he was “confident Serena will be ready.”

After that shocking September defeat to Vinci, Williams ended her season to heal physically and psychologically, but at 34, she has struggled since her return.