The Belgians – both of them – are back. Dinara Safina’s not the top-ranked female tennis player in the world. Serena Williams hasn’t promised to shove a ball down the throat of a linesperson… yet. Intrigue and anticipation are coursing through Melbourne in the final 30 hours before the start of the new year’s first [...]

There they were, two players who – at this point on the calendar 12 months ago – were out of tennis and in search of themselves. In January of 2009, Kim Clijsters and Justine Henin stood to the side of the stage in women’s tennis, with Clijsters raising a toddler and Henin exploring life off [...]