Since her invites to the White House is likely to dry up once outgoing US President Barack Obama vacates the premises this week, Caroline Wozniacki was relieved to snap her backward sliding run at the Australian Open on Tuesday.
After tweeting a picture of herself with Obama with the message "Thank you Mr President!... I'll miss playing tennis with you at the White House", the former world number one was relieved that she finally bucked a worrying trend at the Australian Open.
Since reaching the Australian Open semi-finals in 2011, Wozniacki had fallen one round earlier in each subsequent visit to Melbourne Park - which meant her journey to this season's opening grand slam was full of trepidation.
"My trend has been semis, quarters, fourth, third, second, first round, and then, according to my trend, I should have been in the third-round quallies (this year)," the bubbly Dane, whose ranking has slipped to 20th, quipped following her 6-1 6-2 first-round rout over local hope Arina Rodionova.
"Thankfully that did not happen and I'm going the right direction."
Caroline #Wozniacki is "happy to be through" #AusOpen pic.twitter.com/MyvhtwSQHM
— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) January 17, 2017
The 26-year-old had been tipped as a future grand slam champion when she reached the US Open final as a teenager in 2009.
But despite reaching the ranking summit a year later, Wozniacki remains a bona fide member of a WTA club which boasts only two other members -- players who failed to win a major despite being ranked world number one.
Breaking free from that club -- which also includes Russia's Dinara Safina and Serbia's Jelena Jankovic -- remains the number one goal for Wozniacki.
"Lifting trophies and competing is what I love," said Wozniacki, who completed the New York City marathon just a few weeks after finishing runner-up at the US Open in 2014.
"Obviously, training, you've hit a million balls over my life.
"But I think the competing is what drives me. I love to win, so... That's what I train for."
Two matches in four months, a dodgy knee and a sweltering day had doubts swirling around Serena Williams as she took centre court for her first round match against talented Swiss Belinda Bencic.
It took 79 minutes for the 35-year-old American to bat them all away, however, an emphatic 6-4 6-3 win at Rod Laver Arena providing a near-perfect launch of her bid to clinch a record 23rd grand slam title in the professional era.
Fiance Alexis Ohanian, a social media entrepreneur, was a spectator in the crowd but the wedding plans remain on hold for at least another match, and much longer if the American great has her way at Melbourne Park.
"I just kept saying that February I'll start looking at the bigger picture of my life," Williams, seeded second, told reporters. "But right now I'm just so focused that this is kind of all I can think about."
Former world number seven Bencic, who is expected to have a big future in the game, was supposed to give her opponent something to think about.
She had upset Williams in Toronto in 2015 and became the youngest player to do so in a completed match since a 17-year-old Maria Sharapova felled her at the 2004 WTA Finals.
Bencic trailed 3-1 within minutes of a match that started in oppressive heat on Tuesday but battled back to 4-4 in the first set before Williams changed the game with a single shot.
Pumping her creaky knees to lunge for a wide backhand, Williams' sliced an improbable cross-court winner past the net-bound Bencic to hold serve.
It was a deflating moment for the 19-year-old, who had been on a roll, and she duly dropped the set when Williams fired a return that all but punched a hole through her racket.
From there, Williams roared to 5-0 in the second set with only a late slump stalling her victory march.
Bencic rallied to break Williams a second time and the American double-faulted on her first match point, drawing gasps from the crowd.
But Williams made no mistake with her second, closing it out with a thumping forehand volley to set up a clash against Czech Lucie Safarova.
Safarova, a former world number five and French Open finalist, might present a tough test in the second round but after the way she brushed Bencic aside few would bet against Williams ploughing on to the second week.
Williams revealed in her post-match media conference that she had been devastated to learn of British singer George Michael's death in December.
It prompted a reporter to ask which was her favourite song from the former pop idol.
Fittingly, she responded: "Faith."
Meanwhile, Johanna Konta could not deliver the same brilliance that won her the title in Sydney last week but still proved too strong for Kirsten Flipkens as the British number one battled her way into the second round.
Konta produced a scratchy performance in her opening match on Margaret Court Arena but it is a sign of her rising class that she could still convincingly overcome Flipkens, under-ranked at 70th in the world, 7-5 6-2.
The ninth seed will now face either Thai wildcard Luksika Kumkhum or Japan's talented teenager Naomi Osaka in round two.
Heather Watson dug deep to see off home favourite Samantha Stosur 6-3 3-6 6-0.
The 24-year-old Brit joined compatriot Konta in the second round after a contest lasting two hours and 15 minutes against the 18th seed.
Watson was broken in the first game of the match and again early in the second set but, after several gruelling games, eventually surged clear in the decider.
Her reward for beating a player 60 places higher in the world rankings is a second-round tie against either American Jennifer Brady or Belgian Maryna Zanevska.
