Serena Williams, the undisputed world number one, is currently dominating women's tennis and she continues to create history in a career that has had longevity spanning over twenty years. Under the tutelage of Patrick Mouratoglou, Williams has evolved her game and has become mentally stronger and believes that she can win more Grand Slams. This midseason review will look at Williams' campaign at the halfway stage of the season.

Win/Loss

Williams has only competed in six events so far in 2016 due to injuries and illnesses that have forced her to withdraw from events prior to them starting. The 22-time Grand Slam winner has a 31-4 record and all four of her losses have come to Grand Slam champions. The American has reached five finals in the events she has participated in. 

High Points

Since her shock defeat to Roberta Vinci in the semifinals of the US Open, Williams shut down her season following that defeat to nurse niggling injuries and the disappointment of being two victories away from completing the first Calendar Year Grand slam since Steffi Graf in 1988.

The world number one began her season at the Australian Open, and she was the defending champion and six-time champion in Melbourne overall. Williams was on course to retain her title as she didn't drop a set in her first six matches against Camila Giorgi in the first round, Hsieh Su-Wei in the second round, and three Russians in the third round, fourth round and quarterfinals respectively.

She was determined and thrashed Maria Sharapova in their quarterfinal meeting, a repeat of the 2015 final, and in the semifinals, Williams overpowered Agnieszka Radwanska 6-0, 6-4. In her seventh Australian Open final, Williams lost to an inspired Angelique Kerber in three sets.

Williams holding her Australian Open runner-up trophy next to Angelique Kerber (Photo by Scott Barbour / Source : Getty Images)
Williams holding her Australian Open runner-up trophy next to Angelique Kerber (Photo by Scott Barbour / Source : Getty Images)

The world number one skipped the entire Middle East swing hard courts events of Dubai and Doha and she returned to the BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells in March. Williams bulldozed her way through the draw, without dropping a set until she met her rival, Victoria Azarenka in the final. Williams lost to the two-time Grand slam champion in straight sets.

At the Internazionali BNL d'Italia in Rome, Williams picked up the 70th title of her career without dropping a set. The American defeated Anna-Lena Friedsam, her compatriot Christina McHale, Svetlana Kuznetsova, Irina-Camelia Begu and another compatriot, Madison Keys in the final.

Williams holds the trophy in Rome following her victory over Madison Keys in the final (Photo by Matthew Lewis / Source : Getty Images)
Williams holds the trophy in Rome following her victory over Madison Keys in the final (Photo by Matthew Lewis / Source : Getty Images)

For the third time, Williams was attempting to equal Steffi Graf's Open Era record of 22 Grand Slam singles titles at the French Open. The defending champion in Paris registered straight sets victories over Magdalena Rybarikova, Teliana Pereira, Kristina Mladenovic and Elina Svitolina to reach the quarterfinals. In the last eight, she survived a scare against Yulia Putintseva as she was a set down and Putintseva failed to convert a break point, where she had the opportunity to serve for the match. The American advanced to the semifinals in three sets and defeated Kiki Bertens in the semifinals and in her fourth French Open final, she lost to Garbine Muguruza in straight sets.

At Wimbledon, Williams was the defending champion again and it was the scene of her most recent Grand Slam singles title, and for the fourth time she was attempting to equal Graf's Open Era record of 22 slams. The top seed battled past Switzerland's Amra Sadikovic in her first round match, and in the second round, she dropped her only set of the championships against her compatriot McHale and came through that test in three sets.

Due to bad weather, the world number one had to play on Middle Sunday and she recorded her 70th Grand Slam singles victory over Annika Beck in the third round, and she faced three Russians in the next three rounds, Kuznetsova, Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova and Elena Vesnina to advance to her ninth Wimbledon final.

Williams faced Kerber in the final, a rematch of their showdown in Melbourne and the script was different this time as Williams finally got over the finish line and won her seventh Wimbledon title and equalled Graf's Open Era record of 22. It also took Williams four attempts to equal Martina Navratilova and Chris Evert's haul of 18 slams.

The world number one participated in the doubles event with her sister Venus and they remained unbeaten in Grand Slam doubles finals as the duo defeated Timea Babos and Yaroslava Shvedova to win their sixth Wimbledon doubles title, 14th Slam doubles title together and first since their triumph at Wimbledon in 2012.

Low Points

The only low point for Williams' 2016 campaign is the blip she had at the Miami Open. The world number one had dominated on the hard courts in Key Biscayne and she was the three-time defending champion but looked lacklustre. Williams received a bye in the first round but struggled to beat McHale in the second round, winning that match in three sets and Zarina Diyas in straight sets but her title defence ended in the fourth round to Svetlana Kuznetsova in three sets, despite winning the first set in a tiebreak.

Williams congratulates Kuznetsova at the net at the Miami Open (Photo by Matthew Stockman / Source : Getty Images)
Williams congratulates Kuznetsova at the net at the Miami Open (Photo by Matthew Stockman / Source : Getty Images)

Best Results

Williams is the only female tennis player to reach the quarterfinals or better at all of the Grand Slam tournaments this year which justifies her world number one ranking. Williams' best result was lifting the Venus Rosewater Dish for the seventh time and winning the Internazionali BNL d'Italia in Rome.

Reaching three finals at the Australian Open, French Open and BNP Paribas Open are very good results but Williams would have fancied herself to win them all.

Worst Results

The American's worst result was at the Miami Open when she lost to Kuznetsova in the fourth round. It was the only tournament that Williams has entered this year, where she has failed to reach the final.

Grade: A

Despite playing six singles events this year, Williams has turned up and produced good results and has played world class tennis. The American may have been a runner-up at three events and won at Wimbledon and Rome, but she has made three Grand Slam finals and at 34 years old, Williams is showing no signs of slowing down, as she has history that she craves so badly to create. The Olympics and US Open are on the horizon and she will certainly have her sights on retaining her Gold Medal in the singles event and regain the US Open title to have the Open Era record of 23 slams.

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