Novak Djokovic of Serbia reacts after losing a point during his men's singles semi-final match against Roger Federer of Switzerland at the Shanghai Masters tennis tournament in Shanghai October 11, 2014. REUTERS/Aly Song
Novak Djokovic of Serbia reacts after losing a point during his men's singles semi-final match against Roger Federer of Switzerland at the Shanghai Masters tennis tournament in Shanghai October 11, 2014. Reuters

Novak Djokovic and Serena Williams both ended the year as world no. 1 although Grand Slam singles titles were lifted by eight different players this season. For the first time since 1998, eight players bagged the Grand Slam titles.

The four women's champions were old members of the elite club but Stanislas Wawrinka and Marin Cilic just marked their biggest breakthrough victories in the sport. In fact, after spending years behind the shadow of the 17-time Grand Slam champion and Swiss no. 1 Roger Federer, Wawrinka defeated Rafael Nadal at the Australian Open and bagged his Grand Slam title.

Roger Federer took home five titles this season but he was unable to add a title to his Grand Slam collection. The Swiss Maestro only managed to get close to a Grand Slam when he went head-to-head with Novak Djokovic in the 2014 Wimbledon final and when he played against Cilic in New York.

Novak Djokovic, who recently became a father this year, bagged seven titles and finished the season as the ATP World Tour Finals champion. "I physically feel very fit," Djokovic said according to Reuters. "I'm very motivated to keep on playing on a very high level, I'm going to try to use these years in front of me to fight for number one in the world and the biggest titles in the sport."

Serena Williams, who is now the oldest world no. 1 at the age of 33 won her 18th Grand Slam title against the former world no. 1 Caroline Wozniacki at the US Open. Her last Grand Slam title moved her to the all-time list with Christ Evert and Martina Navratilova with a total of 18 Grand Slams. Thus far, she is only four Grand Slams behind the record holder Steffi Graf.

Although Serena Williams was not as dominant as she was during the previous year, the American tennis superstar still managed to take home seven titles and her sixth US Open crown. Meanwhile, Simona Halep is the 2014 most improved player while Li Na, retired due to health reasons while she was the reigning world no. 2.

RELATED STORIES