Through all the talk of off-season training blocks and savouring precious downtime at home or on far-flung islands, it all comes down to this.
Day 1 of the first Grand Slam for 2020 arrives on Monday, where the world’s top players begin their pursuit of major glory on the blue hard courts at Melbourne Park.
A huge global audience will tune in as the first balls are struck with 11 Grand Slam titlists, including defending champions Novak Djokovic and Naomi Osaka, in action. Former winners Roger Federer, Serena Williams and the retiring Caroline Wozniacki also headline a blockbuster Monday schedule, with Australia’s world No.1 Ashleigh Barty opening under lights.
Six times Federer has clutched the Norman Brookes Challenge Cup on the final Sunday. While he insists at age 38 he should not be considered the favourite, his record of having won two of the past three Australian Opens would deem it foolish to dismiss him as anything but a title contender.
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If the Swiss is to annex a seventh Australian Open trophy, he will need to do something he has never done before in Melbourne – triumph without having played a lead-up event.
Federer opted to extend the off-season with his family and practiced in Dubai this time round. He will need to hit the ground running when he faces a match-hardened Steve Johnson at Rod Laver Arena.
While Federer has not dropped a set in two previous meetings with Johnson, the American is coming off a Challenger title in Bendigo, only a couple of hours from Melbourne.
“It's a tricky situation right now playing somebody who has just played a lot this week,” Federer admitted.
“He's match-ready and I'm not. I got to really make sure I get out of the gates quick. Practice has been going well. I hope it's enough. I know it's a super long road to victory. My expectations are quite low.”
Serena Williams begins her quest to tie Margaret Court’s all-time record of 24 Grand Slam singles titles at Rod Laver Arena on Monday when she meets 64th-ranked Russian Anastasia Potapova for the first time.
The 38-year-old last triumphed at Melbourne Park when eight weeks pregnant two years ago. While she has reached four Grand Slam finals since her return, Williams has fallen short on each occasion, the weight of history growing heavier.
A small but significant hoodoo has lifted in the lead-up to AO2020, with Williams capturing her first title since her comeback in Auckland last week. Potapova, Monday’s opponent, is 20 years’ Serena’s junior, and fell in qualifying in Brisbane and Adelaide leading in.
Another player becoming accustomed to having history on her shoulders is 2019 French Open champion Barty, who is bidding to become the first home champion in 42 years.
Fresh from claiming her first trophy on home soil in Adelaide on Saturday night, the Australian begins her home Grand Slam with the No.1 next to her name for the first time on Monday.
She takes on a player she has split two prior encounters with, Ukraine’s Lesia Tsurenko.
“It's easy for me to lock down and just do what I need to do with my team,” Australia’s newest major winner said.
“I think what makes it normal is I stick to my routines. I'm still the exact same person that I was. Nothing's really changed for me as a person.”
Twelve months ago, Osaka was the undisputed queen of hard courts when she landed back-to-back majors at Flushing Meadows and Melbourne Park.
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Following her victory over Petra Kvitova here last January, the 22-year-old Japanese enjoyed a stint at No.1 and finished the season with two late titles. She meets Czech Marie Bouzkova for the first time.
World No.2 Djokovic is more familiar than any other with the pressure of defending an Australian Open. After an unprecedented seventh title at Melbourne Park last January in which he completely dominated Rafael Nadal in the final, the Serbian returns to his happiest of hunting grounds, where he will start against big-serving German Jan-Lennard Struff.
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Djokovic, who went unbeaten in six matches in guiding Serbia to the ATP Cup leading in, has claimed both previous clashes with the dangerous world No.37.
Seven-time Grand Slam winner Venus Williams and Australian Open 2018 champion Caroline Wozniacki also contest their first-round assignments on Monday.
Williams will be bent on revenge in a repeat of last year’s Wimbledon first round, after she dramatically fell to compatriot Coco Gauff, a rising star 24 years her junior.
Former world No.1 Wozniacki, playing her last event before retirement, squares off against unheralded American Kristie Ahn. The Dane admits playing for the last time at the site of her sole major will be emotional.
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“I'm out here, and I love the sport, I love everything that it's given me,” Wozniacki said.
“I love being out there and competing, but I'm ready to start a new chapter in my life.”