Top trio eye Grand Slam glory with Sabalenka targeting third Australian Open crown

MELBOURNE, Jan 15 : Australian Open favourite Aryna Sabalenka headlines a powerful cast of characters at Melbourne Park along with Iga Swiatek and Coco Gauff as they look to shape the early-season narrative at the year's opening Grand Slam.

While the women's game has been more open than the men's in recent years, the trio sparked a shift in momentum by sweeping nine of the last 12 Grand Slams and Sabalenka will head to Melbourne bidding for her third Australian Open crown.

In addition to claiming a fifth Grand Slam title overall, the Belarusian will be looking to make amends for last year's stunning loss to American Madison Keys in the final.

Sabalenka has already built momentum after reaching her third successive final in Brisbane, where she beat Marta Kostyuk for the title, but the 27-year-old said there is no way to predict what will happen on the Grand Slam stage.

"It's tennis, it's sport and that's why it's so beautiful because you can't predict anything," Sabalenka said when asked about expectations for the season after her Brisbane triumph.

"It's like every day you go out there and prove your level.

"The only one thing I'm sure of is that I'll be there, I'll be fighting ... my focus is on my game, on developing myself and making sure that I'm strong and healthy."

After claiming her first Wimbledon crown last year, Swiatek will now set her sights on the missing piece of her puzzle - an Australian Open title that would complete a career Grand Slam.

A strong performance at the tournament could also open up a pathway back towards the world No. 1 ranking but Swiatek, who reached the semi-finals 12 months ago, is not focusing on that or the Grand Slam milestone.

"Both of those things are big goals and hard to achieve," Swiatek