Sara Errani Continues Awesome Year

Wow, Sara Errani has had a great 2012.  She has played great defensive tennis, mustering all of her strength to truly challenge some of the great players on tour.  From making the Semifinals at one major to the Finals at another Errani has been sensational.  At the Pan Pacific Open, she is, once again, showing us why she is becoming one of the best players on tour.

At the Australian Open, Sara Errani showed that she would be a factor during the tour for the years to come.  Not only did she make it to the Quarterfinals, but she beat some of the top players on tour.  For instance, she beat Nadia Petrova and Xie Zheng on her run.  Both of those players have made semifinal appearances in their careers, so for Errani, who really had not done much in her career, this was a monumental tournament for her.  But, it would not top the French Open for Errani.

Sara Errani had the best major appearance of her career.  This was Errani's first major final.  Errani, with her defensive style suits clay perfectly, so it was no surprise that she made the Finals of this clay-court major.  On her way, she beat some of the top ranked players in the world.  She beat Ana Ivonovic, Angelique Kerber, and Samantha Stosur, just to name a few, on her title pursuit.  Even though she lost to Maria Sharapova in the Finals, her just making it there showed that her run at the Australian Open was no fluke.

Sara Errani later went to Wimbledon and the Olympics, both of these tournaments were on her weak surface, grass.  And although Errani did not perform perfectly, she was not a total disgrace either.  She did make it to the Third Round of Wimbledon, there is no shame in that.  And she also lost to Venus Williams in the First Round of the Olympics.  And let me tell you something, there is nothing to hang her head about losing to Venus Williams on grass.  Errani, however, looked to redeem herself at the US Open.

Sara Errani played like a superstar at the US Open.  She made it to the Semifinals, beating a, now, skyrocketing Angelique Kerber, only losing one set on her way to the semifinal round.  In the Semifinals, she met a hot Serena Williams, who beat Errani in two, quick sets.  This tournament did show, however, that Errani was not going to fade away after her French Open success.  That ERrani was hungry for more.

At the Toray Pan Pacific Ocean, Sara Errani really fought as we have expected her to do.  She beat Marion Bartoli, another really tough fighter, as she went on to the Quarterfinals.  Although she lost in three sets to yet another top player, Nadia Petrova, Sara Errani is once again proving she is definitely going to be a player in next year's majors.

And it will be exciting to see just how far she can go.