The first thing I want to talk about is Victoria Azarenka's emergence. She leaped onto the scene this year beating Maria Sharapova in the 2012 Australian Open Finals, which showed that she was ready to take the leap of stardom. She did not rest on her achievement, however. She gained the number one ranking in the world, which is a huge achievement. Then, she went to the Olympics and performed well there too. She won a bronze medal for her country Belarus to further her fantastic year. Then, in the US Open Finals, she battled Serena Williams till the very end, showing she would be a major factor in the years to come. Awesome job, Victoria.
Maria Sharapova really excelled this year. After challenging Azarenka at the Australian Open, she finally mastered that pesky clay and rolled through the competition, beating surprise finalist Sara Errani in the Finals. This was an especially important major for Sharapova to win as it gave her the career grand slam. Sharapova also won a silver medal for her country, Russia. This year truly solidified Sharapova's place as one of the best women's tennis players of all time.
Perhaps the player who had the best year, however, was Serena Williams. After losing in the First Round of the French Open, Williams exploded. She aced her way to a Wimbledon crown, her first major championship since her terrifying blood clot. And by the way, she won the doubles title too with her sister Venus Williams. She steamrolled her way to the Olympic gold, never being taken to three sets, and only losing one game in the final match. She also won the women's doubles gold with Venus again. Then, she went to the final major of the year, the US Open, and won there. For a year that started so disappointing, not making past the Round of 16 in either of the first two majors of the year, this was an amazing finish. Based partly on the latter part of this year, I believe we might be watching the great women's tennis player of all time.
We cannot also forget the player who beat Serena Williams in that epic First Round match at Rolland Garros: Virginie Razzano. This women needs to be commended for such an impressive showing against such an impressive player. The way she battled back from one set down, the way she battled as Serena Williams made one last push to save her tournament with that seemingly-forever deuce game when Razzano was up 5-3, was impressive. This was an upset for the ages, and we, as tennis fans should be appreciative of such a spectacular performance.
After such a great year in women's tennis, we can only hope that 2013 brings us such great memories.
Maria Sharapova really excelled this year. After challenging Azarenka at the Australian Open, she finally mastered that pesky clay and rolled through the competition, beating surprise finalist Sara Errani in the Finals. This was an especially important major for Sharapova to win as it gave her the career grand slam. Sharapova also won a silver medal for her country, Russia. This year truly solidified Sharapova's place as one of the best women's tennis players of all time.
Perhaps the player who had the best year, however, was Serena Williams. After losing in the First Round of the French Open, Williams exploded. She aced her way to a Wimbledon crown, her first major championship since her terrifying blood clot. And by the way, she won the doubles title too with her sister Venus Williams. She steamrolled her way to the Olympic gold, never being taken to three sets, and only losing one game in the final match. She also won the women's doubles gold with Venus again. Then, she went to the final major of the year, the US Open, and won there. For a year that started so disappointing, not making past the Round of 16 in either of the first two majors of the year, this was an amazing finish. Based partly on the latter part of this year, I believe we might be watching the great women's tennis player of all time.
We cannot also forget the player who beat Serena Williams in that epic First Round match at Rolland Garros: Virginie Razzano. This women needs to be commended for such an impressive showing against such an impressive player. The way she battled back from one set down, the way she battled as Serena Williams made one last push to save her tournament with that seemingly-forever deuce game when Razzano was up 5-3, was impressive. This was an upset for the ages, and we, as tennis fans should be appreciative of such a spectacular performance.
After such a great year in women's tennis, we can only hope that 2013 brings us such great memories.
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