[Pavstry.]

Originally Posted by doomsday

We're waiting.

The Lord is trustworthy in all she promises and faithful in all she does.

[resilience]

Yeah 2002 was really overrated. Her big wins were only over Venus she always drew Hantuchova and some of those noughties scrubs there was no one else who could've won those slams.

Plus Henin and Clijsters were horrible that year. Serena didn't even meet them in her slam wins

2012 is better

[bandabou]

Gotta love the Mashatards...their girl finally wins a major after 4 years beating Sara Errani in the finals and they wanna talk about the top 10 of '02 being weak?! Priceless.

[cowking]

2002, but not by a lot. It's amazing to see such great results 10 years apart, have to admire Serena's dedication and hard work. A true champion.

[hingis-seles]

I'll be the first to say that the field in 2002 wasn't as strong as it was from 1998-2001. Hingis skipped RG & Wimbledon because of injuries, Lindsay skipped AO, RG & W with injuries - these were the big two in the preceding years. Hantuchova and Dokic were winning Tier I events and cracking the Top 5, Mauresmo became a regular in GS SF events, Clijsters and Henin having sophomore slumps after their 2001 breakthroughs, etc. However, none of that matters. For those of us who saw Serena play tennis in 2002 she would've still beat up on all those players. The highest level of tennis I ever saw from a woman. 2002 was Serena's best season and from a perspective of level of tennis produced, one could argue the best season in history.

[new-york]

Originally Posted by spencercarlos

Certainly R4 and R1 loss in slams + W W does not compare to W W W.

She won the Olympics and the YEC this year, but does really trump a slam? hmm not so sure....

Obv, 2002 remains at the top with 3 slams and a tougher competition, but the fact that you're not certain proves my point.

[In The Zone]

Originally Posted by BuTtErFrEnA

if you have to wait until everyone wins a slam for them to be strong players then someone's RG is meaningless try again....if serena was winning most of the slams then who else was gonna win them? 4 slams can't be won by every member of the top 10 in 1 year so some of them will lose...serena was too strong in 2002 for them so failed logic


2002 by far

Identity crisis! THIS IS MINE.

[i.will2]

2002 results are better because of the 3 slams but had Serena ended 2012 with the YE #1 I would say 2012 is better because of the Gold Medal and Serena is 10 years older now.

I wonder if using the same ranking system used in 2002 what the 2012 year end rankings would be. Correct me if I'm wrong, but with the bonus points for beating top ranked players used back then Serena likely could have managed a top ranking under that system.

[L'Enfant Sauvage]

Originally Posted by tejmeglekvár

The Lord is trustworthy in all she promises and faithful in all she does.

The gerls are learning well.

[vogus]

2002 Serena is the best anybody has played in the modern era of the WTA. I don't think there's much debate about this from those who have been around long enough to remember.

[AcesHigh]

Not sure if this is a joke or not. 2002 Serena would beat 2012 Serena in two easy sets.

2002 Serena is top 5 all-time kind of tennis and the most dominant physically a player has been in the Open Era.

[Roookie]

Originally Posted by AcesHigh

Not sure if this is a joke or not. 2002 Serena would beat 2012 Serena in two easy sets.

2002 Serena is top 5 all-time kind of tennis and the most dominant physically a player has been in the Open Era.

Not sure. 2012 Serena would always hold serve.

[doomsday]

Originally Posted by Roookie

Not sure. 2012 Serena would always hold serve.

this.

[bobito]

Originally Posted by i.will2

2002 results are better because of the 3 slams but had Serena ended 2012 with the YE #1 I would say 2012 is better because of the Gold Medal and Serena is 10 years older now.

I wonder if using the same ranking system used in 2002 what the 2012 year end rankings would be. Correct me if I'm wrong, but with the bonus points for beating top ranked players used back then Serena likely could have managed a top ranking under that system.

Interesting question but I doubt it. Williams and Azarenka each won 18 matches against top 10 opposition this year so both would have stacked up a heap of quality points under the 2002 system. Also, in 2002 a player's best 17 results counted towards their ranking and there were no zero pointers. Azarenka would have therefore had points from another two tournaments on her ranking while Williams, who only played 15, would not.

[AcesHigh]

Originally Posted by Roookie

Not sure. 2012 Serena would always hold serve.

No she wouldnt. 2012 Serena isn't serving that much better. It's a matter of subtle improvements and the level of competition today.

Additionally, Serena is not even nearly as agile on the return.