Controversial, opinionated, tempermental, talented, rich, shapely, talented, intense, ferocious, puzzling, so talented, articulate, intriguing, one of the beautiful people, that is Serena Williams.  Oh, and the 2010 Australian Open Champion, or is that Queen?

Serena Williams has jump started her 2010 season as she has done four other times by claiming her fifth Grand Slam title down under.  Love her or not, Serena proved yet again that when it comes to tenacity, she has no equal.  Perhaps, her super-competitiveness is the result of being the youngest of five daughters.

Perhaps, it is prompted by the success of her 30-year old sister Venus.  It might be the money.  It might be the fame.  Whatever it is, there is something that drives this woman.  Something we would all like to have.  That magical combination of power, grace, dedication, style, wealth, drive and super confidence.  The more acclaim this woman gets, the better her tennis becomes.

A statistical phenomenon! A look at her accomplishments on and off the court leaves your head spinning and wondering how she has the time.  On the court, a career won lost record in singles of 459 – 98.  Her career doubles record is a sparkling 141 – 19.  Wow!  That’s against the best competition in the world.

Serena is the proud possessor of 12 singles Grand Slam singles titles and 11 Grand Slam doubles titles.  Are you kidding me?  The singles numbers are very-Federerish, but Roger does not do doubles.

The number two player in the current rankings is Dinara Safina.  Serena’s career record against her is 6  – 1.  The third ranked player is Caroline Wozniacki.  Serena holds a 2 – 0 record against the young starlet and a 6-2 lifetime record against fourth ranked Svetlana Kuznetsova.

On the court, Serena Williams is the real deal, and then some.  She is not into that Azarenka – Sharapova grunt and groan thing. She’s the perfect mixture of Muhammed Ali and Joe Frazier.  She floats like a butterfly and stings like a bee.  She’s as stubborn as Frazier, as gifted as Ali.

And, oh, yes, there’s a temper under all that.  It surfaced last year at the U.S. Open and frankly was an outrageous, undignified outburst.  Tennis fans have long memories.  The woman has paid her dues, made her apologies and is moving forward.  There are some pretty high profile athletes that have done far worse.  Anyone seen that famous golfer lately?  Serena was embarrassed and did not handle it well.  She did not intend to do the game that feeds her harm.  It will not happen again.  Enough said.

Interesting Serena facts:

• 2003 recipient of the Celebrity Role Model Award from the Avon foundation.
• Appeared in Forbes Magazine in 2004 Celebrity 100 list.
• Enjoys football
• 2004 Sports Illustrated Bathing suit issue.
• Co-founder of the Serena Williams Secondary School in Kenya.
• Has appeared on various television shows including, CNN People in the News, Law and Order, Fast Cars and Superstars (ABC), Street Time, My Wife and Kids.
• 2003 Top 10 Marketable Women.
• Favorite author is Maya Angelou
• Opened her own clothing line – Aneres
• Favorite place to visit s Italy.
• Like Mariah Carey, Brandy

Yes, Serena Williams is about tennis, but she is just as intriguing off the court as she is talented on the court.  A champion wherever she is.

Czechoslovakia’s sixth seeded 17-year old Karolina Pliskova bore down on young British star and Davis Cup success Laura Robson to earn the Junior Women’s title with a straight set 6-1, 7-6 (5) win. Pliskova proved to be the more powerful groundstroker as she spoiled the 16-year old Robson’s return to the finals. Also a runner-up at Melbourne in 2009, the Brit looked overmatched in the first set but rallied gamely in the second.

For Karolina, the win was impressive and clearly points her toward the pro tour. The Czech is a strong baseliner that already out-hits many of the tour players. In a twist of fate, Robson had overcome Karolina’s twin sister, Kristyna, in the semis. Apparently the family did not take it well as Karolina.

The pretty Czech roared through the first few games, clearly taking charge of the set’s pace. Robson was reeling. With Pliskova targeting the deep corners Robson desperately tried to retrieve the blows. Unnerved, the Brit sought some extra muscle and began to spray harmless shots all over the Rod Laver Arena.

The Czech had everything working. Her big serve was too much for her younger opponent. Karolina recorded three aces in the quick seventh game on the way to a 22 minute first set.

In the second set, Robson lost her first service game before getting on the board in the third game. Meanwhile, Karolina’s serve dominated the frustrated Brit. When Pliskova held in the sixth game to go up 4-2, all seemed lost.

But, in game style, Andy Murray’s triumphant Davis Cup partner, made a spectacular volley to hold her serve and then held again to get to 4-5. With Karolina serving for the match, a slight chink in the armor gave Laura hope. She played an error-free game to capture her only break of the match and knot the set at 5-5.

Robson continued her steady play to jump ahead 4-1 in the tiebreaker. Pliskova mounted a forceful rally and again began to hit the corners with deep volleys. Robson could not keep pace and fell 7-5.

The win was Pliskova’s first junior event since 2007 and set her up as a potential superstar and media magnet. For Robson, her second runner-up finish at Melbourne marked a very successful tournament as she won a match in the women’s senior qualifier, reached the quarters in women’s doubles and lost just one set in the juniors before reaching the finals.

Fernandes Downs Berman

Brazilian 17-year old Tiago Fernandes handed the home fans an emotional surprise in downing Australian super junior Sean Berman in a 7-5, 6-3 one hour 50 minute battle finals. For the Brazilian, it was his first Grand Slam junior title and followed a strong quarter final appearance at last year’s U.S. Open.

The South African-born and New Zealand-raised Berman started quickly, jumping out to 2-0 lead in the first set. Fernandes leveled at 2-2 after a long break game. Each game was evenly contested until Fernandes withstood a ferocious challenge before holding in the 11th game. The Brazilian used the momentum from that hold to break Berman and seal the set at 7-5.

Fernandes followed the break by running off the first three games of the second set. At 5-2, the 14th seeded Fernandes threatened to break again but Berman saved his game. The Aussie had three break point chances in the ninth game before Fernandes closed the match with an ace.

The two players who both turned 17 in January will be seeing a lot of each other in other junior events this yea. The Rod Laver Arena experience was a positive one. Berman was disappointed but in his post match interview said he had played well.

Australian Open – The Old Guard Stands Firm

Familiar names and top seeds withstood challenges from would-be pretenders to the throne to claim just about every Grand Slam title in Melbourne. It wasn’t always easy, and sometimes it was downright ugly but if you ever doubted that the cream rises to the top, you are forgiven.

Seeing all those young bucks and even a few rested, aka retired, players come back to the game makes the 2010 pro tour look more and more like the days of yore, where real rivalries marked play and filled the stadiums with passionate alliances. Here’s a thumbnail view of how each event played out down under.

Men’s Singles – a few of us doubted the Great One. Always a mistake. Once again, a seemingly ageless Roger Federer proved he is the best player to tie on his tennis pumps and walk onto a court. And, this year the top ranked player had a more difficult time reaching his 23rd consecutive Grand Slam semi finals.

In his quarterfinal pairing with Nikolay Davydenko, the Swiss seemed down and on the way out when down a set and down a break in the second and serving at 0-30, all seemed lost. Davydenko looked headed to his third straight win over the ageless one. But, as Federer did to Jo Wilfried Tsonga in the semis and Andy Murray in the finals, he mounted a surge that unnerved even the unflappable Davydenko, carried forward through Tsonga and ended with the Murray dismantling. A truly great Grand Slam Championship performance by a truly wonderful tennis player.

As Roger earned his well deserved 16th Grand Slam trophy, the second seeded Rafa Nadal was nursing a wounded knee, 3rd seeded Novak Djokovic was battling a stomach disorder, 4th seeded Juan Martin Del Potro had wrist and rib cage injuries and 5th seeded Andy Murray was struggling with his ego. At least the champ left them standing!

Women’s Singles – The tournament looked to be ending for the top seeded Serena Williams when upstart Victoria Azarenka refused to buckle in the first set and then jumped out to a 4-0 lead in set two. Once again, Williams rose to the top with a hobbling come-from-behind three set victory over the crest-fallen Azarenka.

On paper, the semis looked like a mismatch with the consummate slugger pitted against the lightweight retriever Na Li, a surprising quarterfinal victor over Venus Williams. But, Li hung tough and refused to crumble eventually losing in a second set tiebreaker in a match that that only featured two service breaks.

Meanwhile runner-up retiree, unseeded and unranked Justine Henin was doggedly chasing down balls and even coming to the net in order to overcome her wayward service game. Breezing through the semis in one hour and losing just one game in the match, Henin looked rested and ready for the fierce but ailing Williams.

But, like Federer, Williams does not retreat or buckle under on the big stage. After losing the momentum and the second set, Williams powered her way back and got to the finish line ahead of the Belgian challenger. These two will meet again.

For Williams, it was her 12th Grand Slam and perhaps her most physically challenging. Only time will tell the toll this trophy took on the 28-year old.

Men’s Doubles – Top seeded American doubles team Bob and Mike Bryan kept their string going. With four Australian Open titles in the last five years, you could say the brothers are on a roll down under. The finals was a three set thriller against second seeds Daniel Nestor and Nenad Zimonjic, who have had a measure of success against the winners. The runner-ups sport a career 8-3 won-lost record again the champs.

In the first set, the Bryans pressured every Nestor-Zimonjic service game, getting the crucial break in the sixth game and then serving out in 31 minutes. The Nestor team captured a break in game four of the second. The Bryans broke back immediately and at 5-2 in the tiebreaker looked to be on cruise control to the finish line. Team Nestor then ran off five straight points to send the match to the critical set.

The defending champions pounced on Zimonjic’s serve in the fourth game and parlayed a Nestor errant volley into a break. Once again they held set throughout to complete the fast paced 6-3, 6-7 (5) 6-3 triumph at Rod Laver Arena.

Women Doubles – Once again America’s Williams sisters proved that they are the best Grand Slam doubles team of the era and perhaps of all time. The second seeds methodically marched through the field defeating top seeds Cara Black and Liezel Huber in the finals to defend their doubles title.

In the fourth game of the first set, Serena Williams was forced to serve for 15 minutes as the runner-ups jumped on Serena’s usually unstoppable serve. At the final break point, Black whistled a return to Serena’s feet and executed a follow-up drop shot that caught the stunned Williams flat-footed. The break put Team Black up 3-1.

Venus Williams began to assert herself, firing deep forehands that neither opponent could handle. Eventually, the sisters realized the Black was very much on her game and applied the majority of pressure to Huber, who seemed to be struggling with the pace. The champions broke twice to close out the 6-4 first set.

Venus Williams’s strong net play and power strokes dominated the final set. The Americans captured a game four break and held serve throughout to seal the championship 6-4, 6-3. The champions have now won four of the last five Grand Slam doubles events in which they have participated.

Mixed Doubles – Top seeds Leander Paes of India and Zimbabwean Cara Black withstood a stern challenge from unseeded Russian Ekaterina and Czechoslovakian Jaroslav Levinsky. Using timely serving and some terrific net play, the winners emerged with a 7-5, 6-3 straight set win in 68 minutes on the center court.

It was a welcome victory for Black who was still smarting from the doubles loss to the Williams sisters. For doubles specialist Paes, the triumph was his 11th Grand Slam title.

The runner-ups broke twice in the opening set but unfortunately suffered three of their five breaks in the opener. The final break came against Makarova in the 11th game.

Paes and Black broke in the first game of the second set to jump ahead 2-0. Marakova was pressured but held the third game to prevent a landslide. Paes’ strong net play backed Black’s serve and at 5-3, the winners broke again to close out the match.

For Black and Paes, the win marked their 19th men’s, women’s or mixed doubles title.