And so, as local representation in the women's draw dwindles in customary first-week fashion, comes the rub-it-in tale of Johanna Konta. Call her the salt in the Stosur wound, if you like. 
Rod Laver Arena early Tuesday afternoon was scripted to be a smile-to-your-dial affair, an opportunity for trials little and large to be momentarily forgotten, a chance to once again watch Venus Williams play tennis, to marvel that she's been doing this since 1997, and to ponder how different our own worlds have become in her lifetime of monstering small, fluffy balls.
Venus - as singularly recognisable as planet, goddess or song - is now 35, has been managing the auto-immune disease Sjogren's syndrome for years, and could surely have found an easier way to pass the time. At the end of 2011, sapped of energy and in her thirties, she was ranked 103 in the world. Yet she flew to Melbourne for a 16th time back in the top 10, a stunning rebirth that in these parts hasn't been afforded the credit it deserves. Venus was once again a threat.
In her path stood Konta, a 24-year-old with a backstory to bring a tear to a Tennis Australia official's eye. She'd never played an Australian Open, simply because until now her ranking hasn't been even close to good enough. Not that she isn't familiar with life Down Under, or even with Melbourne Park.
Growing up on Sydney's northern beaches with her Hungarian migrant parents, Konta was a talented 800-metre runner and swimmer. Ear infections prompted a switch to tennis; she was soon training in Spain, and her family shifted to England when Johanna was 13.
Now she is the British No.1, courtesy of a 2015 rise as stunning as Williams' renaissance. Konta began her grass-court lead-up to Wimbledon last   June with a ranking nudging 150. Wins over top-tenners Simona Halep, Garbine Muguruza and Ekaterina Makarova in the ensuing months took her inside the top 50. She finished the year with the WTA's most improved player award.
Meanwhile, Spanish third seed Garbine Muguruza declared herself back to full fitness after moving effortlessly into the second round of the Australian Open at Melbourne Park.
In her first match since withdrawing from the Brisbane International with a foot injury, Muguruza outclassed Estonian Anett Kontaveit 6-0, 6-4.