Simona Halep did it the hard way last year, when she saved five match points and survived an epic semifinal before going down to Caroline Wozniacki in an equally punishing final.
The Romanian has since landed her first Grand Slam title in Paris and established herself as the world No.1.
However, Kaia Kanepi provided an almighty test in round one on Tuesday, and Halep looks like she will taken to the limit once again if she is to get her hands on the Daphne Akhurst trophy.
After a 6-7(2) 6-4 6-2 win that took two hours and 11 minutes, Game Insight Group in partnership with Infosys reveals that Halep had covered the most distance (1.96km) of any seeded player in round one … a case of AO déjà vu?
She also worked the hardest (2305 KJ) out of any seed, and the ninth-most of all players that advanced to the second round.
These figures are higher than her 2018 work (2089 KJ) and distance (1.7km) numbers from 2018.
The early signs are that Halep will be relying heavily on her physicality, rated as fifth-best on the tour by GIG’s Player DNA, once more throughout 2019.
Halep by the numbers: Round 1 2019/Round 1 2018
Total work: 2305 KJ (2019), 2089 KJ (2018)
Distance covered: 1.96km (2019), 1.7km (2018)
Number of sprints: 54 (2019), 69 (2018)
Number of high intensity changes: 59 (2019), 62 (2018)
Round one: the hardest, fastest and biggest
The hardest workers, the fastest sprinters, the best pressure players – check out some of the data highlights after round one of Australian Open 2019.
Hardest workers (men): De Minaur (8.2 KJ), Ebden (7.9 KJ), Seppi (7.8 KJ), Shapovalov (7.7 KJ)
Hardest workers (women): Sevastova (6.3 KJ), Martic (6.2 KJ), Brengle (6.1 KJ), Flipkens (6.1 KJ)
Fastest mover (men): Nadal (13.6km/h average), Goffin (13.1km/h), Duckworth (13.1km/h), Simon (13.0km/h)
Fastest mover (women): Vekic (12.5km/h average), Siniakova (12.2km/h), Keys (11.8km/h), Voegele (11.7km/h)
Biggest forehand (men): Jarry (179.2km/h), Kecmanovic (169.7km/h), C.Eubanks (169.3km/h), Gojowczyk (168.9km/h)
Biggest forehand (women): Kanepi (155.0km/h), Boulter (153.5km/h), Keys (152.9km/h), Yastremska (151.3km/h)
Quickest to serve (men): Hurkacz (16.0 seconds average), Gunneswaran (16.4), Molleker (16.7), M.Zverev (16.8)
Quickest to serve (women): Osaka (15.1 seconds average), Brengle (15.8), Perez (16.9), Alexandrova (17.1)
With the Australian summer of tennis now underway, stay across Australian Open platforms for the latest updates and player profiles from the Game Insight Group.