January: Andre Agassi returns serve with unparalleled brilliance as he prevails in the Australian Open semifinal over the favored Pete Sampras. Agassi goes on to defeat Yevgeny Kafelnikov in the final. Lindsay Davenport continues to assert dominance over Martina Hingis, whom she defeats easily in the women's final.

March: Lindsay Davenport seems to have Martina Hingis's number. Davenport comes back from a shaky start to completely overpower Hingis in their final at Indian Wells, and it looks almost certain that she will keep Hingis from the number one ranking for the rest of the year.

April: In one of the best tournament-long performances by any player ever, Mary Pierce's thunderous power stays keenly focused during the entire Family Circle Cup, where she takes the title having lost a record few 12 games from her first round through her final against Arantxa Sanchez Vicario.

May: Magnus Norman surprises much of the tennis world by taking the number one spot in the new ATP Champions Race. His Italian Open semifinal win against Lleyton Hewitt moves him above Andre Agassi in the rankings. He then defeats Gustavo Kuerten in a tough final.

June: Mary Pierce continues her hot streak, playing at an extraordinary level throughout the French Open to take both the singles title and, with Martina Hingis, the doubles.
Gustavo Kuerten, on his eleventh match point against Magnus Norman, claims his second French Open singles title and sets the stage for an enormous accomplishment later in the year.

July: Pete Sampras breaks the men's all-time Grand Slam singles record of 12, which he had shared with Roy Emerson, by defeating Patrick Rafter to win his seventh Wimbledon. Venus Williams is at least as thrilled as Pete, outplaying Lindsay Davenport to earn her first Grand Slam singles title and helping sister Serena take home the doubles title, too.

September: Marat Safin makes beating Pete Sampras look easy as he takes the U.S. Open singles title with nearly flawless play. Venus Williams keeps her hot streak going, outrunning and outsteadying Lindsay Davenport in an all-out slugfest of a women's final.
Venus goes on to take the Olympic gold medal in singles and, with Serena, the doubles. Her final-round opponent, Elena Dementieva, becomes one of the most promising new players to hit the tour. On the men's side, Yevgeny Kafelnikov takes the gold over Tommy Haas in five tough sets.

November: Martina Hingis adds authority to her number one ranking for the year by winning the WTA season finale over Monica Seles in the last, and arguably the best, Chase Championships final.

December: In the ATP season finale, Gustavo Kuerten plays inspired tennis first against Pete Sampras, then Andre Agassi, to claim the Masters Cup and the top ranking for the year.

See also: The Biggest Disappointments of 2000.

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