As Serena Williams stood two wins away from one of the ultimate achievements in her sport, it all seemed to be falling apart. For 10 months between 2002 and 2003, she had established a level of dominance not seen since the greats of the previous century. On a warm January night in Melbourne, though, she was on the brink of a crushing defeat, trailing Kim Clijsters 1-5 in the third set of their 2003 Australian Open semi-final.
But Williams had won three grand slam tournaments in a row for a reason. This was a time when she seemed almost unbeatable in the biggest moments. Defeat was one mistake away, but she eradicated all unforced errors from her game as Clijsters cowered. Williams saved two match points, she won six games in a row and then she held off her sister, Venus, in their fourth successive grand slam final to seal the “Serena Slam”.
