Unfortunately for her, she ran into Ivanovic, who was red hot all of the clay-court season. Safina would continue her success in Flushing Meadows as she made the semis. On a shocking and bad note, Henin retired for professional tennis. She told reporters that she just lost all motivation and was happy and satisfied with her career. And Venus ended the season on a nine-match winning streak, taking titles in Zurich and Doha (the season-ending championships).

With expectations high, can 2009 be as exciting as 2008? Definitely! In fact, things can probably more exciting than last year simply because most of the players ended the season healthy or with minor injuries.

In 2007, Venus ended the season with anaemia, Serena with a thigh strain, Maria with her on-going shoulder troubles, and the list goes on. All of those injuries hampered their preparation for the Australian Open and the 2008 season - although I stand to be corrected since Sharapova won the Aussie Open.

All the top players have ended the season for the most part healthy except for Serena and Sharapova. So, with each top player basically healthy, a great 2009 is in store. Here's the player expectation:

Jelena Jankovic: The big question here is can she be the best player for two weeks instead of for the year? To me, there's no question she can win a major; she's an excellent defender and a good court controller, but it's mind that's holding her back. Each time she gets deep into a tournament, she falters against the bigger hitter.

She's a great clay courter and a terrific hard-court player, especially at the US Open, but I think had the Aussie Open stayed true to the rebound ace surface, Jankovic would be more than a possible contender, she'd be a threat.

Honestly, I think Jelena will eventually win a major, simply because worse players have won Grand Slams and she's actually a good player - but she won't win a major in 2009. What Jankovic needs to do is seize the moment!

Ana Ivanovic: Winning the French Open seemed to be a bad thing for Ivanovic. She never really got her act together and struggled with the pressure throughout the rest of the season. Ana has the potential to win more majors, especially at the French, but I think the 2009 season will see her continue to slide down the rankings and slip out of the top 10, possible the top 15.

The question here is, can she cope with being a Grand Slam champion? What she needs to do is enjoy being a Grand Slam champion and thrive on the pressure and expectation. A great player once said, "Pressure is a privilege!" That was Billie Jean King.

Venus Williams:  Big sister ended the year on a high, winning nine straight matches and two titles. 2008 saw her capture two big titles, one being her fifth Wimbledon, and her first season-ending Championships.

Venus also rose to No.6, her highest ranking since 2003, when she was No.2 in the world. We all know that Venus is the best grass-court player of her generation; the question is, can she win a major besides Wimbledon? Of course she can - with her talent, anything is possible.

I think Venus will win two majors simply because she already has Wimbledon won and this is probably her best year to win the Aussie Open. She ended the year on a high note and comes in with a lot of confidence.

Serena Williams: Little sister reached No.1 again, and although her stay atop the tennis tour was short, she was there. Serena also captured her third US Open title. Although she didn't end the season as good as she wanted, she's still the second-best player in the world, at least that's what the ranking says.

The question is, can she stay in shape? See, with the Williams sisters, they're so much alike yet so different. With Venus the problem is focus, and with Serena the problem is fitness. So the question is can she stay in shape? I think she'll, as usual, have her ups and downs, but the last year showed that she can play a fully fit season as she did when she was dominating.

Serena will win a major this year, probably at the US Open or in Australia. What she needs to do is be more superstitious; she won the Aussie Open in 2003, 05, 07, and.....09 possibly?

Dinara Safina: What a second half of 2008 she had. She's another player who will be affected by the surface change in Australia as the rebound ace would have aided her game nicely. The question is, after reaching her first Grand Slam final and climbing as high as No.2 in the world, can she keep up her recent success?

What she needs to do is keep playing and focusing on the future, forget about where she came from and remember that she's where she belongs! I think Safina has basically reached her limits; beating the bigger hitters is going to be hard for her to do, especially on the bigger occasions. So, I don't think she'll win a major but she'll continue to contend.

Maria Sharapova: Nobody was as good as she was during the beginning of the season. Sharapova came off the blocks in Australia blowing her counterparts away without losing a set, then went on the capture the No.1 ranking for a brief period. After that, injuries caught up with her and forced her to miss most of the second half of the season.

The question is, can she defend her points from the beginning of last season? Although Sharapova has pretty much nothing to defend in the second half, the first half of the season is where she won most of her points and with this continuing shoulder issue she's going to enter the Aussie Open without any preparation.

What she needs to do is remember last year and remember how well she did in the beginning, and hopefully that'll help her repeat. Honestly, I don't expect much from her because she'll be on the path on recuperation, but watch out if she ever gets hot!

Elena Dementieva: The gold medalist at last year's Olympics has a game suited for hard courts and a game capable of doing damage on clay. The question here is after fine tuning her serve, can she keep it in check?

Honestly, I think Dementieva will be Dementieva; a consistent performer who falls at the big occasion to a more experienced player and a bigger hitter. What she needs to do is continue to grind and hope that the draw will open up for her.

And lastly:

Svetlana Kuznetsova: The wild Russian is a player who can beat anyone when she's playing her best, but when she off (which is more often than not) she can lose to just about anybody. The question here is can she get it together mentally for two weeks?

I'm pretty sure she'll never win another major, I think her time has passed. But if she's ever going to have another a shot at winning a major, she needs to listen to her own words of wisdom. In the press-conference room before her quarter-final match with Venus at Wimbledon in 2007, she said that tennis is 70% mental and 30% physical.

I think it's obvious to tennis fans that Kuznetsova, tennis wise, is missing a few screws upstairs and you get the feeling that if she ever gets it together she's a danger to all.


My predictions:

Australian Open: Venus Williams

French Open: Elena Dementieva

Wimbledon: Venus Williams

US Open: Serena Williams

The year 2009 has so much to offer us and so many different things can happen, I just can't wait to see what actually happens....