The 2015 Australian Open women's draw looms as a battle between form and class between top seeds Maria Sharapova and Serena Williams.
No.2 seed Sharapova enters the tournament riding a wave of momentum having taken out the Brisbane International, while top seed Williams admits her preparation has left something to be desired.
"I'm not very happy with it, but I'm never very really happy with my practice or preparation," Williams said.
"Maybe that's a good sign. I'm just going out there every day and working hard.
"I definitely feel better now than I did two weeks ago, but I still want to improve some things.
"I feel like I should be doing a lot of things better, but every day I can see something else coming through. There's a little light at the end of the tunnel."
Despite her winning form, Sharapova played down her credentials, saying she was one of a number of chances at the Open.
"I'm sure I'm one of them, definitely, I mean, I'm No. 2 in the world," Sharapova said.
"I've had a great season last year, winning a grand slam. I think there are a lot of players that have an opportunity to win this tournament, and I'm certainly one of them."
When pressed on her claims to unseat world No.1 Williams, Sharapova admitted a return to the top spot remained her goal.
"Obviously No. 1 is a ranking that every single player wants to grab and works so hard for," she said.
"There's a lot of players that have an opportunity to get there, and I'm one of them. I am, of course, determined to do that. But by doing that you need to in more matches than the person that's in the first place, so that's the goal."
No. 3 seed Simona Halep has had an injury-interrupted preparation that forced her to withdraw from Sydney, but is on the mend.
"I'm feeling good now - I'm almost now like 100 per cent recovered," Halep said.
I have two days. I slept very well. I ate very well. So I feel prepared to start this tournament."
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