Australian Open 2012 live stream

On Thursday afternoon in Rod Laver Arena, Serena Williams notched her 500th career win. The No.12 seed is just the fourth active player to do so, joining her sister Venus (598), Thai journeywoman Tamarine Tanasugarn (514) and defending Australian Open champion Kim Clijsters (508). Of Serena’s 500 wins on tour, 54 of them have been won at Melbourne Park. We take a look at the 10 most memorable from Serena’s 12 trips Down Under.

1998 First Round: Serena defeats world No.6 Irina Spirlea (ROM) 6-7 (5) 6-3 6-1.

It was her first ever match in Melbourne and Serena had drawn the perennial top-20 player in Spirlea. The match had added weight as the Romanian had just faced off with Serena’s older sister, Venus, in the US Open semifinals where the two engaged in their infamous changeover “bump”. Younger sister emulated Venus on this day, beating Spirlea just as she had: winning in three sets after a first-set tiebreak.

1998 Second Round: Venus Williams (USA) defeats Serena 7-6 (4) 6-1.

In the first time they ever met on tour, it was fitting for the older sibling to win. After a tight first set, Serena wilted insider Rod Laver Arena, Venus running away with the result. The girls – still both teenagers – wore beads in their hair and had braces on their teeth. After the match, Venus put her arm around her sister, the two girls bowing to the crowd. “You don’t want it to happen this way,” Venus said after the match. “We’re gonna make a pact to be No.1 and No.2 and only meet in the finals.”

1999 Third Round: No.15 Sandrine Testud (FRA) defeats Serena 6-2 2-6 9-7.

One of many nail-biting matches in Australia, Serena held match points at 5-4 and 7-6 in the third before losing to Testud, one of the big hitters of the late `90s. Williams had a match point on Testud’s serve at 7-6 and nailed a down-the-line backhand, which was called good by the lineswoman. But chair umpire Laura Ceccarelli overruled the call, sending the game to deuce. Serena lost her next service game by double faulting, essentially handing the match to the Frenchwoman.

2001 Quarterfinal: No.1 Martina Hingis (SUI) defeats No.6 Serena 6-2 3-6 8-6.

Martina Hingis had been to at least the semifinal at Melbourne Park for four straight years, and Serena wouldn’t stop her chance of doing that this time around. The two battled it out underneath the roof while a storm thundered outside, Serena serving for the match at 5-4 in the third but failing to capture it. Hingis would go on to demolish Venus in the semifinals 6-1 6-1 (the first time anyone had beaten both sisters in a major), but lose to Jennifer Capriati in the final.

2003 Semifinal: No.1 Serena defeats Kim Clijsters (BEL) 4-6 6-3 7-5.

Serena was on the move to win the “Serena Slam” – four majors in a row. The American had done her duty by winning the French Open, Wimbledon and US Open the year prior after missing the Australian Open in early 2002. Clijsters raced out to a 5-1 lead in the third set and served for the match at 5-2 – where she had two match points – and again at 5-4. But the Belgian couldn’t close out Serena, who won the match when Clijsters missed a backhand into the net, winning the final six games.

2003 Final: No.1 Serena defeats Venus 7-6 (4) 3-6 6-4.

And the “Serena Slam” was complete! Playing in what was arguably their best match against one another, Serena beat big sister Venus in an electric final. It was one of eight times they would contest a Grand Slam final and the first time they went to three sets since 1999, a four-year gap. Serena had beaten Venus at the previous three slam finals after Venus won the US Open final in 2001.

2005 Semifinal: No.7 Serena defeats No.4 Maria Sharapova (RUS) 2-6 7-5 8-6.

Sharapova was trying to follow up her unbelievable win at Wimbledon the year prior with another run at a major. The Russian looked on her way to destroying Serena in straight sets, leading 6-2 5-4, but she couldn’t serve out the match. Sharapova again served for the match in the third set, holding three match points, but once again couldn’t convert. Serena won with a crosscourt backhand and went on to beat Lindsay Davenport in the final.

2007 Final: No.81 Serena defeats No.2 Sharapova 6-1 6-2.

It is the most lopsided match on our list, but one of the most decisive wins in Serena’s career. It was meant to be a blockbuster final: Sharapova had come off her win at the US Open with a renewed purpose on the women’s tour. Serena hadn’t won a slam since two years earlier, and silenced her critics by becoming the first unseeded woman to ever win the Australian Open. Her win was the most emphatic since Steffi Graf beat Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario 6-0 6-2 in the 1994 final.

2010 Quarterfinal: No.1 Serena defeats No.7 Victoria Azarenka (BLR) 4-6 7-6(4) 6-2.

A year after Victoria Azarenka led Serena by a set and a break, the Belarusian found herself in a similar position, yet this one even more commanding: Azarenka had a 6-4 4-0 lead and Serena backed into a corner, only to watch helplessly as the then four-time champion came roaring back. After the American won the tiebreaker, the No.7 seed succumbed in the third set.

2010 Final: No.1 Serena defeats UR Justine Henin (BEL) 6-4 3-6 6-2.

In the final chapter in what was a tremendous rivalry, Serena beat an unranked Henin who was just coming back from her first retirement. Serena would assure the history books were in her favour, coming out with an 8-6 head-to-head record with the Belgian. Henin had played a brilliant tournament, beating Elena Dementieva in a jaw-dropping second-round match in straight sets. But she didn’t have enough to beat Serena in three that night, the American winning her fifth Australian Open.