It is hard to pick between Novak Djokovic and Serena Williams when deciding the performer of the year. Both finished 2015 with three Grand Slams: Djokovic won Australian Open, Wimbledon and US Open; Serena won in Melbourne, French Open and at SW19.
But both also came within touching distance of the fourth Grand Slam. A much superior, Stanislas Wawrinka beat Djokovic in Paris, while, Italian Roberta Vinci crushed Serena's glory moment in the semis of Flushing Meadows. Thereafter, Vinci lost in the Final to country-woman Flavia Pennetta. Elsewhere, the duo were dominant throughout the year and had a winning ratio greater than 90%.
Djokovic won six Masters 1000 titles in Indian Wells, Miami, Monte Carlo, Rome, Shanghai and Paris. He only fell short twice — in Montreal and Cincinnati. Novak capped off the year by clinching the year ending World Tour Finals in london. His win-loss stat read: 82-6.
Away from the Grand Slams, Serena returned to applause at Indian Wells, where she and her sister had history. But she couldn’t make a winning returning after retiring in the semi-finals. The following week, she won in Miami. Serena also played Fed Cup for her country — winning against Argentina and Italy. In another WTA Premier event in Madrid, she came out champion. At the Toronto Masters, she lost surprisingly to Belinda Bencic in the third round but returned to winning ways the following week by lifting the title in Cincinnati. Her win-loss record at the end of the season read: 53-3.
After her US Open loss which came as a surprise to the American and to everyone around, she withdrew from both China Open and WTA Finals citing elbow and knee injuries. However, the real reason for her disappearance could be the lack of motivation — as her coach claimed — having come within touching distance of a splendid calendar Slam, something that hasn’t been accomplished since Steffi Graf did in 1988.