The Swiss starlet made the fourth round past year before injuries derailed her season and she has a 1-1 record with Williams, winning their last encounter in the Toronto semi-finals in 2015.
"For that to happen, it would be necessary for her to play many more tournaments, and that's not the point".
How weird does it sound to associate 22-time Grand Slam champion Serena Williams with the second seed?
As Angelique Kerber prepares to defend her Australian Open title, Victoria Azarenka has told Omnisport of the challenges facing the holder. The Hungarian, despite a good enough ranking to get a seed, never seems to do much in the majors.
The arena where she hit with Williams carries the name of the woman who holds the record for most Grand Slam singles titles - Margaret Court won 24 from 1960 to 1973 in a career that spanned the amateur and Open eras.
While her warm-up performances have been unimpressive, Kerber could have a reasonably easy ride in the opening round against 61st-ranked Ukrainian Lesia Tsurenko, who withdrew from the Hobart International with a viral illness on Friday.
WOMENSerena Williams' next Grand Slam would be her 23rd, which would move her past Steffi Graf on the all-time list.
Leading their head-to-head 9-3, the former WTA Finals champion has nonetheless won three of her last four meetings against the Bulgarian, and their only hardcourt match back in 2007.
Wild-card entry Destanee Aiava, a 16-year-old Melbourne high school student, is set to become the first player born in this millennium to play a main draw match at a Grand Slam when she meets German qualifier Mona Barthel on Show Court 2.
At this time a year ago, barely anyone talked up Angelique Kerber as a title contender in Melbourne.
Pliskova is seeking her first grand-slam title.
"I still think back about that match, where I was match point down and after that match I had no expectations at all actually". Well, I can't get worse, ' she said.
The Pennsylvanian's repertoire has the ability to throw many opponents off, thanks to her flatter groundstrokes that can take away time from her opponent.
WINNERSMENAs it usually has recently, the Australian Open likely will come down to either Murray or Djokovic on the men's side.
'I don't think I've had an opportunity to, like, let everything sink in, ' said Williams. "It's a big draw", the 2010 Australian Open junior champion said. "Hopefully, this year will be different".
This will be the second appearance of the 19-year-old at the first major of the year. Federer would then have to play Kei Nishikori in the fourth round and top-seeded Andy Murray in the quarterfinals.
Murray has lost five Australian Open finals - the first to Roger Federer and the rest to Djokovic.
"Of course, the more confident you are sometimes the better chance you have of feeling better and going through the matches. 2016 was really rough for her but I think she has been able to play a lot better by the end of 2016 and I think in 2017 she will be back in the top 10".