Serena Williams: Tennis Star's Reign of Dominance Will End at 2012 US Open
American tennis superstar Serena Williams will come back down to earth this summer at the 2012 US Open.
Williams' recent reign of dominance in the sport will come to an end as she returns from the slick and unpredictable grass of Wimbledon, to the more demanding hard court surface.
The 30-year-old has had an incredible summer of tennis. Following a first-round exit from the 2012 French Open, Williams cruised to her fifth Wimbledon championship and then won gold at the All England Club a month later at the 2012 London Olympics.
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But don't expect that string of success to continue in Flushing Meadows, where Williams hasn't won a US Open title since 2008.
Although she made the final of the US Open in 2011, her initial look on the hard court in 2012 was far from championship caliber.
Williams fell in the fourth-round at the Australian Open in January, and hasn't won a hard court Grand Slam since the 2010 Aussie Open—she was 28 then.
In her most recent tennis tournament, Williams lost in the quarterfinals to Angelique Kerber at the Western & Southern Open in Cincinnati.
That's not to say that Serena won't make a deep run into the later rounds at the 2012 US Open, but she won't have the serving advantage that she possessed at Wimbledon this summer.
The ball keeps much more of its speed on grass than compared to the hard court, thus making Serena's deadly service less of an advantage to rely on during a two-week major such as the US Open.
Kerber's straight set win over Williams at the Western & Southern Open last week proved that the world No. 4 is beatable on the hard court.
Sure, Williams will still be a favorite in New York City this summer based on the amount of success she has experienced over the last two months. But make no mistake, Williams' reign of dominance will come to an end at the 2012 US Open.
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