If you ask Serena Williams’ coach Patrick Mouratoglou if the American could emulate Steffi Graf’s feat of winning all Grand Slam singles titles in the same year, he’d say yes.
“With Serena, everything is possible,” the Frenchman said in an interview with BBC Sport.
“Look at the level she plays at at the moment.”
“She’s beaten all the top players many times, so you can aim that high,” he added.
The 32-year old tennis superstar has already done the feat of holding all four Grand Slam simultaneously when she won the French Open, Wimbledon and US Open titles in 2002 and the Australian Open in 2003. However, the last player to win all Grand Slams in a single calendar year was Steffi Graf in 1988.
“Of course it would be exceptional because it’s crazy to do that,” Mouratoglou explained. “It’s happened just a few times in the history of tennis – but she can do it and the goal is to do the best possible in all four Grand Slams. So why not?”
In 2013, Williams won two Grand Slam titles at the French Open and the US Open. She was heavily favored to win the Australian Open and Wimbledon but an ankle injury hampered her chances in Melbourne where she lost to Sloane Stephens in the quarterfinals. She surprisingly lost to Germany’s Sabine Lisicki in the fourth round at the All England Club.
Williams only lost four times in 2013 and won 11 titles but as the American stated in past interviews, she still wants to improve her game. She’s already a heavy favorite once more to win the Australian Open 2014 title following her dominating title defense at the Brisbane International where she also defeated Victoria Azarenka and Maria Sharapova along the way.
Serena Williams Grand Slam wins:
Australian Open: 2003, 2005, 2007, 2009, 2010
French Open: 2002, 2013
Wimbledon: 2002, 2003, 2009, 2010, 2012
US Open: 1999, 2002, 2008, 2012, 2013
