The Year That Was — the Best of Vintage 2012 Paul Fein Ageless superstars Serena Williams and Roger Federer proved they’re not just getting older, they’re getting better. In fact, Serena went nearly unbeaten during the second half of the season. Displaying newfound maturity, Andy Murray and Victoria Azarenka broke through to win their first major titles, while Maria Sharapova achieved a rare career Grand Slam. Novak Djokovic captured just one major—after racking up three in his spectacular 2011—but still ranked No. 1 for the second straight year. And Rafael Nadal, after winning his record seventh French Open, suffered a shocking loss at Wimbledon and then was sidelined by a chronic knee ailment for the rest of the season. The Australian Open marathon final between Djokovic and Nadal ranked as a classic, and Williams and Azarenka provided high drama and an unpredictable denouement in the US Open final. The quadrennial Olympic Games showcased tennis at its most prestigious venue, the All England Club, where raucous Brits spurred Murray to a gold medal. While the men’s Big 4 and the women’s Big 3 grabbed all the biggest titles, lesser-known names such as Errani, Kerber, Rosol and Janowicz, as well as Marray and Nielsen in doubles, produced stunning upsets. Let’s look back at the leading players, matches, issues and trends and see if you agree with how I saw the “Bests” and “Worsts” of vintage 2012. BEST WOMEN’S PLAYER — After struggling through the first five months of 2012 low-lighted by a shocking French Open first-round loss, Serena Williams captured her fifth Wimbledon and called it “the beginning of something great.” Serena then backed up those cocksure words by totally dominating women’s tennis for the rest of the season. The 31-year-old American seized her fourth US Open title to increase her career Grand Slam singles titles to 15, leaving her only three behind Martina Navratilova and Chris Evert. Serena was at her overwhelming best at the London Olympics, where she allowed six opponents a total of only 17 games for her first gold medal in singles to achieve a career “golden” Grand Slam. She also teamed with her sister Venus to win their third record gold medal in doubles. Serena went 48-2 over the last seven months of the season and was named the WTA’s Player of the Year for the fourth time even though she ranked No. 3 behind Victoria Azarenka and Maria Sharapova. However, in head-to-head matches, Serena shut out Azarenka 5-0 and Sharapova 3-0. BEST MEN’S PLAYER — Novak Djokovic’s 2012 season did not match his spectacular 2011 campaign, but it featured his fifth career Grand Slam title at the Australian Open, runner-up finishes at the US and French Opens, six singles titles and a 75-12 won-loss record. Djokovic’s singles titles also included the year-end Barclays ATP World Tour Finals where he went a perfect 5-0 against a brutal draw—defeating Roger Federer, Andy Murray, Tomas Berdych, Juan Martin del Potro and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga—plus Masters 1000 events in Miami, Toronto and Shanghai. For the second straight year, the 25-year-old Serb finished as the year-end No. 1 in the South African Airways ATP Rankings. “This was my time, my moment, and I needed to step in and really believe in my ability. So throughout the whole season I’ve had lots of success and had some disappointing losses at big events, in a couple major finals,” reflected Djokovic. “All in all, it was a fantastic year.”
BEST WOMEN’S DOUBLES TEAM — Italy’s Roberta Vinci and Sara Errani were named the Women’s Tennis Association’s year-end No. 1 doubles team and ranked No. 1 and No. 2, respectively in the year-end individual rankings. The first Italian pair to finish as No.1, Vinci and Errani captured eight titles in 2012, highlighted by winning Grand Slam titles at Roland Garros and the US Open, and finishing as runner-up at the Australian Open. They won 25 consecutive matches, recording the longest doubles win streak since 1994, en route to winning five consecutive titles— Barcelona Ladies Open, Mutua Madrid Open, Internazionali BNL d’Italia (Rome), Roland Garros and UNICEF Open (‘s-Hertogenbosch).
BEST MEN’S DOUBLES TEAM — The American brother duo of Bob and Mike Bryan finished No. 1 in the ATP doubles rankings for the fourth straight year and record eighth time overall. The Bryans captured seven titles—their 11th consecutive season of winning five or more—highlighted by a record-equaling 12th Grand Slam trophy at the US Open and the gold medal at the London Olympics. They also captured a pair of Masters 1000 tournaments in Monte-Carlo and Toronto, and were runners-up at the Australian Open and Roland Garros. The exuberant, 34-year-old twins have won the most doubles team titles in the Open Era with 82, and Mike Bryan broke Todd Woodbridge’s individual record when he won his 84th trophy with the twins’ victory in Beijing. BEST MURRAY GRAND SLAM BREAKTHROUGH — After losing his first four Grand Slam finals, Andy Murray outlasted defending champion Novak Djokovic in a riveting 7-6, 7-5, 2-6, 3-6, 6-2 US Open final for his first major title. The duel featured a 24-minute first set tiebreaker and equaled the longest US Open final in history. “I proved that I can win the Grand Slams,” said a jubilant and relieved Murray afterward. “I proved that I can last four and a half hours and come out on top against one of the strongest guys physically that tennis had probably seen especially on this surface. So they would probably be the things that I would say I have learned tonight: To not doubt myself physically and mentally from now on.” BEST NATIONAL TEAM SUPREMACY — Czech Republic won the Davis Cup, Fed Cup and Hopman Cup to become the first nation to capture all three international team competitions in the same year. BEST DAVIS CUP PLAYER — Spain’s David Ferrer defeated Radek Stepanek 6-3, 6-4, 6-4 and Tomas Berdych 6-2, 6-3, 7-5 in the 100th Davis Cup final, which Spain lost 3-2 to Czech Republic in Prague. In the Cup quarterfinals, Ferrer straight-setted Austria’s Jurgen Melzer and Andreas Haider-Maurer; and in the semifinals, he outplayed the U.S.’s John Isner (who had earlier upset Roger Federer) and Sam Querrey in four sets. The undersized but tenacious Ferrer finished with a perfect 6-0 Cup record in singles.
BEST ROLE MODEL — “In a sport in which it is so difficult to develop friendships—there’s a lot of jealousy out there, maybe a little more on the women’s side than on the men’s side—Kim is a friend of everyone. She’s shown you can be humble and have a lot of class and win in the right way. She’s an example for everyone to follow.” —ESPN analyst and former US Open semifinalist Darren Cahill, on Kim Clijsters, who retired at the US Open. BEST CLIJSTERS CONFIDENTIAL — “It’s been an incredible journey, and a lot of dreams for me have come true because of tennis. As a little girl, I got Christmas rackets under the tree and outfits of Steffi Graf and Monica Seles, and I would want to wear them to bed, I was so excited. So for me to have been able to have been a part of women’s tennis, and on top of women’s tennis for so many years — you don’t think about it when you’re in it; you’re kind of on automatic pilot.... Now that I think about it, it’s been a crazy rollercoaster at times, as well.” — Kim Clijsters, after she lost to Laura Robson at the US Open in the last singles match of her career. BEST TRIBUTE TO RODDICK — “I’m thankful for everything he’s done for the game, especially here for tennis in America. It’s not been easy after Agassi and Sampras, Courier, Chang, Connors, McEnroe, you name it. … It’s been hard for him as well at times. I thought he always did the best he could; that’s all you can ask from a guy,” praised Roger Federer, about former world No. 1 and 2003 US Open champion Andy Roddick, who retired at the US Open. “He may not have been the best tennis player on the court, but he was always the best competitor on the court. He threw his heart and soul into every match,” said Darren Cahill, ESPN analyst and former Australian Davis Cupper, about Roddick. BEST SPORTSMANSHIP — Fellow players voted Roger Federer as the winner of the Stefan Edberg Sportsmanship Award for the eighth time and second year in a row. He had won the award six straight years from 2004−09 before Rafael Nadal broke the streak in 2011. Marin Cilic, Juan Martin del Potro and David Ferrer were also nominated in this category. BEST MATCH — For sustained brilliance and suspenseful twists and turns, the Australian Open final ranks as an all-time classic, second only to the Nadal-Federer 2008 Wimbledon final among the greatest matches in history. When Rafael Nadal, who led 4-2, 30-15 on his serve in the fifth set, missed an easy backhand passing shot by inches, defending champion and No. 1 Novak Djokovic came back to prevail 5-7, 6-4, 6-2, 6-7, 7-5 in the Grand Slam record 5-hour and 53-minute final. “I think we played a great tennis match. It was a very good show,” said Nadal, who lost to the Serb for the seventh straight time. Djokovic called the epic “Definitely the greatest match I’ve ever played.”
BEST PRAISE OF AUSTRALIAN FINAL — “So incredibly, unbelievably, awesome. For me, this is as much, if not more and better quality tennis,” praised four-time major titlist Jim Courier, while commentating for Channel 7 Australia early in the fifth set of the 2012 Australian Open men’s final. Courier compared it favorably to Rafael Nadal’s three other five-set Grand Slam finals, including the extraordinary 2008 Wimbledon final against Roger Federer. BEST OLYMPICS DOMINATION — Serena Williams lost 17 games in six matches while winning the singles gold medal at the London Olympics. In six matches she recorded a remarkable 165 winners versus only 64 unforced errors. Equally amazing, she whacked 60 aces compared to only four double faults. Serena has dropped only 13 games in the four Olympic finals she has won—2000 Sydney doubles (with Venus Williams), 2008 Beijing doubles (with Venus Williams), 2012 London doubles (with Venus Williams) and 2012 London singles. BEST U.S. TENNIS PARTICIPATION GROWTH STAT — Tennis still holds a commanding lead among traditional sport in the percentage growth in participation since 2000, according to data from the Physical Activity Council. In fact, tennis is the only tradition sport to have a positive growth rate overall—a superb 37%—from 2000 to 2011. Soccer has decreased 4%, basketball 5% and tackle football 22% since 2000. BEST BIG 4 PRAISE — “It’s almost like there are two tours, the main one and the one with the top four guys. And it’s great,” commented Mats Wilander, seven-time Grand Slam champion, on the wide gulf between Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer and Andy Murray and the other ATP Tour players, in Sports Illustrated. BEST FEDERER RESURGENCE — The ageless (31) Roger Federer—he says he intends to play the 2016 Olympics—won his seventh Wimbledon title, his first major title since the 2010 Australian Open, and 17th overall. The Mighty Fed also grabbed a silver medal at the London Olympics, gained the final of the Barclays ATP Tour Finals and briefly regained the No. 1 ranking to break Pete Sampras’ record of 286 weeks at No. 1. BEST NON-FINAL GRAND SLAM MATCH — Novak Djokovic’s debilitating, grueling 6-3, 3-6, 6-7 (4), 6-1, 7-5 Australian Open semifinal marathon victory over Andy Murray. Afterwards, Djokovic said, “You have to find strength in those moments and energy, and that keeps you going. At this level, very few points decide the winner. I think we both went through a physical crisis. You know, him at the fourth set, me all the way through the second and midway through the third. It was a very even match throughout, from the first to the last point. Andy deserves the credit to come back from 2-5 down. He was fighting. I was fighting. Not many words that can describe the feeling of the match. It was a physical match ... it was one of the best matches I played. Emotionally and mentally it was equally hard.” WORST MATCH FOR SICKNESS AND PAIN — “The banana is still on Suzanne Lenglen [court]. I was really feeling bad. But he was even in a worse situation than I was,” said French veteran Richard Gasquet about the grueling, 38-shot rally that left him vomiting while Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov collapsed on the court with painful leg cramps during the second set of Gasquet’s 5-7, 7-5, 6-2, 6-3 second-round French Open victory. BEST CRITICISM OF WTA RANKINGS — “She’s not going to end the year ranked No. 1 in the world, but she’s No. 1 in the world,” rightly criticized Jimmy Arias, Tennis Channel analyst and former world No. 4. Serena Williams won Wimbledon, the US Open, a Olympics gold medal and the season-ending WTA Championships but finished the year ranked No. 3, partly because of the flawed WTA ranking system that throws out the results of some tournaments. BEST IMPROVED WOMEN’S PLAYER — Sara Errani, who finished the last four years ranked in the 40s, finished 2012 at No. 6 after winning four WTA titles—all on clay—and reaching her first Grand Slam final at the French Open. Errani’s doubles campaign with good friend Roberta Vinci was even more impressive. Winners of five previous titles, they took it to a whole new level in 2012, capturing eight WTA doubles titles, including two Grand Slams at the French Open and US Open and Premier-level titles at Madrid and Rome. Both spent time as the No.1 doubles player in the world. BEST NISHIKORI QUANDARY — “I don’t know what I’m going to do with a year’s worth of Corona beer. I don’t even like beer.” — Kei Nishikori, referring to a bonus gift from the tournament sponsors, after he defeated Milos Raonic 7-5, 3-6, 6-0 to become the first Japanese man in 40 years to win the Japan Open, for his second tournament title.
BEST HUMANITARIAN — Novak Djokovic received the ATP’s Arthur Ashe Humanitarian of the Year award. The 25-year-old Serb joined Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer, Carlos Moya, former South African president Nelson Mandela and Arthur Ashe as winners of the Arthur Ashe Humanitarian Award, recognised for his contributions through the Novak Djokovic Foundation, his role as a UNICEF ambassador and other individual ventures. His Foundation raised $1.4 million for early childhood education through its inaugural fundraising dinner in New York in September and a week later he visited the “Beneath the Linden Trees” kindergarten, a UNICEF initiative in Lesnica, Serbia, to raise awareness of the importance of early childhood education. In October, Djokovic collaborated with UNIQLO to develop and launch ‘Clothes for Smiles,’ a new program that aims to give children of all ages a chance for a better future. The program has established a $10 million fund that helps nurture the dreams of children worldwide. BEST BREAKTHROUGH TOURNAMENT — Jerzy Janowicz, an unheralded, Polish 21-year-old who began the year ranked No. 221, started the BNP Paribas Masters in Paris ranked No. 69. The slender 6’8” qualifier played eight matches in nine days, upsetting Philipp Kohlschrieber, Marin Cilic, Giles Simon and No. 3 Andy Murray, before No. 5 David Ferrer finally stopped him 6-4, 6-3 in the final. Janowicz finished the season ranked No. 26.
BEST JANOWICZ CONFIDENTIAL — “I was a bad boy at primary school. In high school, I was fighting with everyone, with the teachers. I was a really bad guy. Somehow it’s really not easy for me to explain why I’m that kind of guy. Yesterday, I played against Andy Murray and I didn’t feel pressure at all. I just was trying to play my best tennis,” confided Jerzy Janowicz, a towering (6’8”), 21-year-old qualifier from Poland, asked where he acquired his mental toughness after he upset Philipp Kohlschrieber, Marin Cilic, Andy Murray and Janko Tipsarevic at the BNP Paribas Masters Paris. BEST WTA LONG-TERM PLAN TO REDUCE GRUNTING — “I do think that this issue is a bit unfair to the women. But obviously our DNA is different — men have deeper voices; we were blessed with a higher pitch. The plan is to eliminate excessive grunting for the next generation, but [we’re] doing it in such a manner that it does not drive out our current players who have trained their entire lives the way they play today.” — Stacey Allaster, Women’s Tennis Association chief executive officer, talking to “Outside the Lines” recently about the joint WTA-ITF initiative to teach young players breathing techniques to avoid shrieking, screaming and grunting and to eventually adopt a rule against noises deemed too loud. BEST VERGEER HUMILITY — After the Netherlands’ superstar Esther Vergeer routed compatriot Aniek Van Koot 6-0, 6-0 in the Australian Open women’s wheelchair singles final for her 444th straight win, she said, “I’ve already been telling myself I can lose any minute now because I know that some girls are a better player than me, maybe have better tennis skills than me, maybe have a better disability than me, maybe can put more pressure on the ball, but maybe don’t have the mental toughness or the experience, I’ve been telling myself I can lose any day now, it’s gonna happen.” It didn’t happen during 2012. BEST TRIBUTE TO THE OLYMPICS — “When you see people on the podium, in tears, you understand how important the Olympics is not just to yourself but to your country. I think a gold medal is the pinnacle of every sport. Novak Djokovic won a bronze medal at the last Olympics and was in tears. I want to make sure I prepare properly so I give myself the best chance to win a medal. It’s a huge competition in tennis now.” —World No. 4 tennis player Andy Murray, on why winning a gold medal at the London Olympics is more prestigious than winning a Grand Slam title. BEST OLYMPICS MEN’S MATCH — Roger Federer outlasted Juan Martin del Potro 3-6, 7-6 (5), 19-17 in an Olympics semifinal, lasting 4 hours, 26 minutes, which was not only the longest match in Olympic history, but the longest men's three-setter in the Open Era. “I was tense. I was nervous,” admitted Federer about the marathon deciding set. “Obviously I was seeing myself as the loser many times during the match, but at the same time also I did see myself with medals. So you go through many emotions. It’s a big moment in my life and a big moment for Switzerland because we don’t have a medal yet. I hope that also inspires other Swiss athletes for the Olympics now.”
BEST LENDL LESSON ABOUT TACTICS — “Tennis is basically a game where you try to create an opportunity for yourself to finish the point, because you can’t wait for the opponent to miss anymore. Well, if you create an opportunity and don’t take advantage of it, you let the opponent back to even, then you are just starting the point over, so you have to take advantage of them,” pointed out Ivan Lendl, former, eight-time Grand slam champion and now Andy Murray’s coach, in The New York Times. BEST FEDERER ANALYSIS OF GRASS TACTICS — “Obviously, it’s much harder to defend on grass time and time again than on any other surface, you know. But it’s hard to set up sometimes. Going flat through the courts, you’re playing little with margins. We’re used to playing with much more topspin and giving ourselves margin over the net, whereas on grass I think it’s worth it to go closer to the lines, use a lot of the down-the-line shots, which aren’t easier to pull off on other surfaces.” —Roger Federer, talking grass court tactics before outplaying Novak Djokovic 6-3, 3-6, 6-4, 6-3 in the Wimbledon semifinals. WORST SERENA LACK OF GRACIOUSNESS — “Everyone I play always plays the match of the year. I probably played about 20 percent [of my normal level of play]. I just made a tremendous amount of errors,” contended Serena Williams after her 6-4, 6-4 loss to No. 4-ranked Caroline Wozniacki at the 2012 Sony Ericsson Open. BEST ANALYSIS OF WOZNIACKI’S GAME — “I think Wozniacki is going to have to try and play with more aggression and play shorter points in 2012. She’s got to stop waiting for someone to lose the match, squeeze the trigger earlier in points, obviously take better care of her serve. I feel badly, because she’s a young kid, trying live up to herself. She can win so many matches by playing her brand of ball. But in the majors, she’s got to take charge of the important moments.” —TV analyst Mary Carillo, with advice for world No. 1 Caroline Wozniacki before the 2012 Australian Open, on ESPN.com. Wozniacki finished the year ranked No. 10. BEST RICHARD WILLIAMS TEACHING METHOD — “When they were little, I wanted them to throw like a boy. I had them throwing rocks, baseballs, footballs. Most parents would buy their child a doll: I was teaching them to throw. That’s why boys throw better than girls. And the better you throw the better you serve.” —Richard Williams, on how his daughters Serena and Venus developed their powerful serves. BEST JUNIOR PLAYER (BOY) — Filip Peliwo, an 18-year-old Canadian, won the Wimbledon and US Open boys’ titles in 2012 and became the first player to reach all four Grand Slam junior finals in a calendar year since Mark Kratzmann in 1984. At Wimbledon, Peliwo staved off five match points in his semifinal victory over Mitchell Krueger and battled back from a 5-2 deficit in the final to beat defending champion Luke Saville 7-5, 6-4. Peliwo outlasted Liam Brody 2-6, 6-2, 7-5 in the US Open final. BEST JUNIOR PLAYER (GIRL) — Taylor Townsend, a powerful 16-year-old lefthander, became the first American girl to finish No. 1 in the ITF singles rankings since Gretchen Rush in 1982. Townsend won the Australian Open singles title and captured doubles titles with fellow American Gabby Andrews at the Australian and US Opens and Wimbledon. She also helped the U.S. win the Junior Fed Cup by BNP Paribas in September. BEST “IN MEMORIAM” — Margaret Osborne DuPont, who captured 37 Grand Slam titles in singles, doubles and mixed doubles, passed away at age 94 on October 24th. DuPont won a record 25 titles at the U.S. Championships, Her last major title came in 1962 at age 44 when she paired with Neale Fraser to take the Wimbledon mixed doubles crown. “Margaret duPont was a giant in tennis and had a huge impact on my career,” said Billie Jean King. “She was one of my sheroes and was a great influence on my life both on and off the court. I hope today’s players and any boy or girl who dreams of a career in tennis will go to the history books and read about Margaret because her career wasn’t just about winning matches, it was also about mentoring others.” BEST “IN MEMORIAM” II — Barry MacKay, a former American tennis star, tournament director and TV tennis analyst, died on June 15 at age 76 after a long illness. The genial MacKay competed on five United States Davis Cup teams from 1956 to 1960 and was a doubles finalist at the U.S. Open in 1958, with Sam Giammalva. He reached the singles semifinals at Wimbledon in 1959, losing to Rod Laver, and won the 1960 Italian Championships, defeating defending champion Louis Ayala in five sets. In 1961, MacKay turned professional and played three years with the Jack Kramer Professional Tennis Tour. BEST “IN MEMORIAM” III — Art “Tappy” Larsen passed away on December 7 in California, at age 87. Larsen, who was awarded four bronze campaign stars (Normandy, France, Central Europe and Germany), was honored in a military burial service at Holy Sepulchre Cemetery in Hayward, Calif. Despite a late start to his tennis career, due to military service, Larsen achieved the No. 1 ranking in the United States in 1950, and he was ranked in the world top 10 several times in the 1950s. In 1950, Larsen won the U.S. National Championships in a five-set match at Forest Hills. He also captured the titles at the U.S. Clay Courts (1952), U.S. Hard Courts (1952), and U.S. Indoors (1953), making him the first man to win the titles on four surfaces.
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