As noted in my preview of the men's tournament, the preliminary stages of the Australian Open have been in the headlines for the wrong reasons this week, with bushfire smoke engulfing Melbourne and making walking down the street difficult, let alone several sets of high intensity tennis.

But it's our job to focus on the sport alone and the women's tournament again takes the prize for most interesting betting heat.

Serena Williams, the greatest female player of all-time, seeks to equal Margaret Court's record of 24 Grand Slam singles titles, from the era of amateur players and when the Australian Open was just a token Slam with a vastly inferior field.