It’s safe to say that no sister act has ever been a bigger hit on the New York Stage than Venus and Serena Williams. The two marquee-topping champions have combined for a total of eight US Open singles titles, with Serena capturing six and Venus, two. In the weeks leading up to the 2022 US Open, Hall of Fame tennis writer Steve Flink is recounting each of those remarkable title runs. In this installment, Flink recounts how a new coach helped Serena appreciate history—while making more of her own.
Over the course of a sterling career which has lasted a quarter of a century and is now probably ending fittingly at the 2022 US Open, Serena Williams has perhaps never headed into the last major of the season with more velocity than she did in 2012. Her summer began with a fifth Wimbledon singles title on the British lawns in July. She then won in Stanford, California on the hard courts the following week before returning to the All England Club and playing stupendously again at the Olympic Games, winning the gold medal on the grass, casting aside six opponents at the cost of only 17 games.
Why was Williams, at 30, playing a brand of tennis that in many ways we had never seen from her before?
The answer, indisputably, was Patrick Mouratoglou. This masterful French coach who ran a highly-regarded academy in his country started officially working with Serena that June, right after Williams had lost in the first round of Roland Garros. His impact was immediate and far-reaching. Williams seemed to be hearing his voice whenever she competed, imploring her to rely not simply on blasting the ball ceaselessly, but also to add the subtle shades, to open up the court with angles she had never thought about before, to be more consistent from the backcourt, and to win not only with firepower but brainpower.
In many ways, Williams was transformed. To be sure, she had always been a gifted player who understood how to win by outthinking as well as outhitting her adversaries. But now, in this memorable summer, Williams was looking at the game very differently, playing with larger imagination, competing with more options, and enjoying herself in the workplace as much as she had in a very long while.
Was this transformation solely about the loquacious Mouratoglou and the way he was reshaping her universe? Not exactly. But the fact remained that he played a leading role in her evolution as a champion, and it was no accident that she had such spectacular results right out of the gates after adding him to her team.
Understandably, after all the success she had alongside Mouratoglou from the outset, Serena briefly came back down to earth two months later when she lost to Angelique Kerber in Cincinnati. Her 19-match winning streak was over. But that defeat could not diminish what Williams had done over the preceding weeks, and, at least to some degree, it took the pressure off as she came to New York for her 13th appearance at the US Open in search of a fourth singles title.
Mouratoglou was a keen student of tennis history and he instilled in Williams an even greater desire to collect major titles in clusters and raise her stature irreversibly among the all-time greats. He believed she could be the best player of all time, and Williams in the summer of 2012 was at long last envisioning herself as a genuine candidate eventually for GOAT status.
Although Williams was seeded fourth at the US Open, she was the clear favorite. The three women seeded above her—Victoria Azarenka, Agnieszka Radwanska and Maria Sharapova—had all struggled inordinately to beat her lately. Williams upended Radwanska in the Wimbledon final, and then crushed Azarenka 6-1, 6-2, and Sharapova 6-0, 6-1 in the last two rounds at the Olympics. 
The players and public alike recognized that Williams was unmistakably the woman to beat at the Open. Her march through the early rounds was remarkable. Across the first four rounds, she conceded only a total of fourteen games. Her highest-ranked opponent in that stretch was the 5-foot-11 left-handed Russian, Ekaterina Makarova, at No. 42.
Williams figured to face much tougher opposition in the next two rounds, but that was not the case. Taking on the ever-dangerous No. 13 seed Ana Ivanovic of Serbia in the quarters, Williams was totally on her game, directing her returns deep down the middle, serving potently, and covering the court impeccably. She produced 26 winners, served 12 aces and won 26 of 29 points on her first serve. Ivanovic never had a chance. Willliams rolled to a 6-1, 6-3 triumph.
Her semifinal opponent, Sara Errani of Italy, had built a reputation largely on her clay-court expertise, reaching the final of the French Open a few months earlier at Roland Garros before losing to Sharapova. In New York, she had performed tremendously on the hard courts on her way to the penultimate round, affirming that her quarterfinal run at the Australian Open earlier in the year was no fluke.
But the 25-year-old had no answers to the questions Williams was posing on the fast courts in Ashe Stadium. In rally after rally, she was rushed into mistakes. It was essentially no contest. Williams won 92% of her first serve points, blasted winners at will, and came away with a 6-1, 6-2 triumph. Errani became a spectator at her own tennis match.
Azarenka, meanwhile, turned in a couple of hard-fought victories on her way to the final. The top seed narrowly moved past defending champion and No. 7 seed Samantha Stosur 6-1, 4-6, 7-6(5) in a rousing quarterfinal skirmish. In the semifinals, she rallied gamely to beat the 2006 US Open champion and No. 3 seed Sharapova 3-6, 6-2, 6-4.
The final round matchup between Azarenka and Williams was alluring. Azarenka had demonstrably displayed her excellent hard-court credentials at the start of 2012, securing her first Grand Slam title at the Australian Open by defeating the estimable Kim Clijsters in the semifinals and Sharapova in the final. She had then gone to the semifinals of Wimbledon, losing to Williams 6-3, 7-6 (8). Although Serena cut down Azarenka more decisively (6-1, 6-2) at the Olympic Games a few weeks later in semifinals, the fact remained that Williams knew that her rival would be much tougher to overcome in New York.
The title-round showdown between Williams and Azarenka was a matchup tennis fans could savor. Azarenka’s ball control and strategic acumen were second to none. Her virtues blended beautifully with the heavy shot-making arsenal of Williams. Above all else, this was a contest between the sport’s greatest server in Williams and the highest quality returner in Azarenka. It was a smorgasbord for the spectators.
Although Azarenka walked on court with a 1-9 career losing record against Serena, she was undismayed by those numbers because she believed she was better than that. Azarenka had finished 2011 at No. 3 in the world. She was No. 1 now and would end 2012 still at the top. This was the third time in four Grand Slam tournaments in 2012 that she had gone at least to the semifinals. Deep down in her psyche, Azarenka thought she could do it.
Williams, however, was swinging freely at the outset, taking a swift 3-0 first set lead, protecting her lead sedulously from there. Azarenka managed to hold twice, but from 4-2 Williams collected eight of the next nine points to seal the set 6-2 in 34 efficient minutes. The way she was playing, it seemed entirely possible she would succeed in straight sets.
Azarenka had other notions. Until the start of the second set, Williams had lost her serve only twice in thirteen sets at this US Open. But Azarenka found her range on the return of serve, breaking twice on her way to 4-1. Soon, she had taken the set 6-2.
Not since 1995–when Steffi Graf beat Monica Seles in an epic clash between two all-time greats—had a women’s final at the US Open gone the full three sets. Now the fans witnessed a riveting final set. Azarenka got the early break for 2-1 but lost the next two games. But then she swept three in a row to lead 5-3, moving within striking distance of the title at the last major of 2012.
Williams served to stay in the match in the ninth game and missed four out of six first serves. Precariously, she was two points from defeat at 30-30. Since the start of the second set, Azarenka had won 11 of the last 16 games. She was outmaneuvering Serena from the backcourt, probing intelligently, extracting errors from the American. But Azarenka missed a forehand down the line before Williams laced an immaculate backhand down the line winner to hold on for 4-5. Serving for the match, Azarenka was apprehensive, winning only one point. It was 5-5. Williams held on quickly for 6-5. She had won 10 of 12 points from the brink of defeat to take the lead again, and then she broke Azarenka one last time to complete a scintillating comeback, winning her fourth US Open, 6-2, 2-6, 7-5.
Williams was effusive afterwards, perhaps more gratified by this triumph at the US Open than any of her previous championship runs. She was particularly proud about her stirring comeback at the end in the closest call she’d ever had in a major final.
“I never, never quit,” she said. “I have come back so many times in so many matches. I never stopped competing, no matter what.”
Having described how hard she fought to salvage such a satisfying victory, Williams then lavished considerable praise upon Mouratoglou, the hidden hero behind this title run and her revitalization as a player.
Williams said, “Patrick has been great. He’s been really positive in my life. I love how calm he is. I am a little crazy. We have a good strategy going on, a good chemistry. He’s made me more excited to play. It’s been really cool.”
Williams had now amassed 15 majors in singles and stood only three behind the accomplished duo of Martina Navratilova and Chris Evert. She was climbing swiftly through history, realizing for the first time that having lofty long term goals was the only way to bring out the best in herself, and recognizing that she could largely control her own destiny. Thanks to Mouratoglou, Williams was now looking at her game through a much clearer lens, seeing that champions never stop evolving, knowing that her best tennis was yet to come.
