MELBOURNE, Jan 12: How to stop the ‘Serena Slam’ is the question the rest of field is asking as the Australian Open women’s singles gets underway here on Monday.

Invincible at the majors in 2002, with victories at Roland Garros, Wimbledon and the US Open, world number one Serena Williams is overwhelming favourite to complete her set of Grand Slam triumphs in Melbourne.

Victory would make the 21-year-old American the first player to hold all four major titles at the same time since Steffi Graf in 1994 — though Williams insists she is not getting distracted at the prospect of completing the feat.

Serena opens her campaign in the first round against French world number 56 Emilie Loit on Tuesday.

Ominously for her rivals Williams began the year by convincingly vanquishing Belgium’s Kim Clijsters, the last player to beat her in the Hopman Cup.

The status of her second-seeded sister Venus in the other half of the draw is harder to gauge.

She has skipped all lead-up events ahead of Melbourne, and towards the tail-end of last season sounded jaded.

The elder Williams faces Russian baseliner Svetlana Kuznetsova in the first round on Monday, a potentially awkward tie for the American.

Third seeded defending champion Jennifer Capriati is chasing a hat trick of Australian Open titles following her epic victories in 2001 and 2002.

Capriati’s form in the 12 months since her battling win in Melbourne over Martina Hingis last year has dipped sharply.

Capriati plays Germany’s Marlene Weingartner in the Rod Laver Arena on Monday.

Meanwhile, Andre Agassi barely takes notice of the end-of-year holidays as he works himself into rock-hard condition for another assault on the Australian Open.

The 32-year-old elder of the tour is back after the disappointment of last year when he withdrew on the morning of the Open with a wrist injury and this time he is seeded second to Australia’s big hope Lleyton Hewitt.

Agassi begins his campaign on Rod Laver Arena on Monday against Brian Vahaly.

Hewitt will be under incredible domestic pressure to become the first Australian to win the national Open in 27 years.

Third seed Russian Marat Safin, a beaten finalist here last year after beating Sampras in the quarter-finals, is a contender along with Spanish pair fourth seed Juan Carlos Ferrero and No.5 Carlos Moya and Swiss sixth-seed Roger Federer.—AFP