2012 SUMMARY
Titles Won (6): Charleston, Madrid, Wimbledon, Stanford, Olympics, US Open
Grand Slam Highlights: Wimbledon, US Open (Winner)
Win/Loss Record: 53-4
Record Against Top 10: 13-2
WTA Championships History: Winner (2001, 2009), Runner-Up (2002, 2004), Round Robin (2007, 2008)
When Serena Williams suffered a surprise defeat to Samantha Stosur in last year's US Open final, there were whispers that, after over a decade at the top, perhaps her best days were now behind her.
In 2012, Williams has made a mockery of this suggestion, enjoying her most successful campaign in years and playing arguably the best tennis of her career. However, her journey back to the winner's circle has not been without a few bumps in the road, the first of which came in the shape of a one-sided defeat to Ekaterina Makarova in the fourth round of the Australian Open.
Surprisingly, for a player who has enjoyed many of her best moments on the faster surfaces, sanctuary came in the form of the clay court season. Commanding triumphs on the green clay of Charleston and the blue of Madrid saw Williams head into Roland Garros as many people's favorite for the title.
But, in the biggest upset in a fortnight of upsets, Williams was undone by the deadly mix of an inspired Frenchwoman and a partisan crowd, losing a dramatic three setter to Virginie Razzano.
Despite this setback, the American stayed true to her tried and trusted pre-Wimbledon routine, with three solid weeks on the practice courts ahead of an elongated grass court season.
The attention to detail paid off; Williams ended a two-year wait for a major by winning an topsy-turvy Wimbledon final against Agnieszka Radwanska, before returning to the All-England Club three weeks later to capture her first Olympic singles gold against Maria Sharapova.
Sandwiched between these two triumphs was a title at Stanford, one of Williams' few outings on hard prior to arriving in New York for the US Open. Nevertheless, this lack of time on court did not seem to harm her chances, as she cruised into the final without dropping a set.
Here she faced Victoria Azarenka, and, fittingly, in a meeting of the WTA's two standout performers, they served up the year's best match. Eventually, it was Serena who prevailed, staging the most remarkable of final set recoveries to end the most remarkable of summers.
