Roger Federer had made it his goal to try to win Olympic gold in singles for the first time, one of the very few things he hasn’t achieved in his career.

Andy Murray on the other hand, was trying to win gold on home soil after a painful loss to Federer in the Wimbledon finals.

The world number 1 Novak Djokovic was also desperate for gold. The only disappointment on the men’s side was the withdrawal of Rafael Nadal, who did not play due to injury and then subsequently also missed the rest of the season.

Federer got off to a nervy start at the Olympics. It was the only time Roger did not have that normal calmness. The semi-final line up was Novak Djokovic versus Andy Murray and Juan Martin Del Potro versus Roger Federer.

Murray was very solid beating Djokovic in two tight sets, while Federer won in the longest three set match in tennis history. This did not give Federer much time to recover and he ended up losing the gold medal match, which is out of five sets, to Murray in three straight sets.

It looks like Roger will never win Olympic gold in singles but he was very sporting in defeat.

For Murray this was the big breakthrough in his career, beating the world number 1 and number 2 back-to-back to win Olympic gold, and was the catalyst to him winning the US Open a month later.

It will go down as one of the greatest Olympic performances from a British man. Andy Murray was not finished there. He went on to partner Laura Robson in the mixed doubles, losing only the gold medal match against Mryni and Azarenka.

Winning two medals, one gold and one silver, was a great achievement for Andy. For Laura Robson this gave her confidence to have a great run at the US Open, where she beat two top 10 players, marking her big breakthrough on the tour.

The ladies event was all about Serena Williams, who dominated to win gold in singles and doubles with her sister Venus. Next year, if Serena plays a full calendar, I’m certain she will regain her number 1 status.

In the men’s doubles, the number 1 partnership in the world, the Bryan brothers, won the gold, which meant that the USA topped the Olympic medal table in tennis with three golds.

2012 was probably the most memorable Olympic tennis event in history and will be very difficult to top.

I cannot remember a year with more British sporting success. Andy Murray has had the best year of his career, becoming the first British man to win a major in 76 years. On top of that, he won Olympic gold at Wimbledon in singles, silver in the mixed doubles and also reached the Wimbledon singles final.

Most years he would be a shoe-in to win, except for the amazing feats of Bradley Wiggins and Mo Farah.

Bradley Wiggins became the first British cyclist to win the Tour de France and Olympic gold. Mo Farah won gold medals in the 5,000 and 10,000, which no British man has done before. This will most likely be the top three for BBC Sports Personality.

Bradley Wiggins is the bookies’ favourite at the moment, but this year there are at least 15 athletes who could have easily won the award in any other year.

As a former winner of the BBC Sports Personality of the Year, I would like to make a case for fellow tennis pro Andy Murray.

Andy was very bold at the end of 2011 to choose former world number one and eight-time grand slam champion Ivan Lendl as his coach.

They have had very similar career paths. Each one was known as a nearly man. Lendl had gone through all the same ups and downs as Andy, and came through to be one of the greats. Andy could have stayed on his path but decided to take a risk by hiring Lendl to try to win majors and to become world number one.

Ivan brought experience, knowledge and the extra key, a good sports psychologist, to give Andy that extra edge.

In January this year he started working with Ivan’s sports psychologist and became a more aggressive player, which is not his natural instinct. Technically this improved his serve, forehand, volley and overhead.

These are not easy areas to improve if you had not believed the changes were necessary.

The belief never faltered and Andy went on to the Wimbledon final, becoming the first British man to do so since 1938. Andy went on to lose, but the nation got to see a glimpse of what it meant to him when he broke down and cried during his interview with Sue Barker after the loss to Roger Federer.

From there he grew in stature and went on to destroy the great Federer in the Olympic final also at Wimbledon, where under a month earlier he had lost.

In his fifth major final, like Ivan Lendl, Andy defeated Novak Djokovic in five brutal sets to become Britain’s first major winner in 76 years. This is such a remarkable sporting achievement because he is in an era with two of the greatest players of all time and a number one in Djokovic, who is also destined to be one of the greats of the game.

Andy keeps on pushing the bar and do not be surprised by the end of 2013 if Andy is the first British man to be world number one in the open era.

Andy Murray would be a deserved winner of the BBC Sports Personality of the Year and my choice. Now though, it comes down to the British public. I personally cannot wait to see what happens on Dec. 16 and I am keeping my fingers crossed for Andy.

Right now though in the men’s game there feels like a shift in power at the very top – It feels like a new era. The Djokovic, Murray era is beginning. Novak Djokovic, barring an injury will be number 1 at the end of the year. The big battle for the rest of the year will be between Murray and Federer for number 2 in the world. Djokovic and Murray are at the peaks of their careers, while Roger is nearing the latter stages of his career and nobody knows how Nadal will be after such a long injury break. Still we have no idea when Rafa will return.

Novak Djokovic has been in sublime form all week, not dropping a set getting to the finals. The closest anyone had gotten to Novak until the finals,was Tomas Berdych who lost 6 3, 6 4 in the semifinals.

Andy Murray is now playing his best tennis when it really matters, which is the sign of a true champion. In the semifinals against Roger Federer, Murray was very aggressive and dominated Federer in all aspects to win 6 4,6 4. Andy has now won the last 5 sets played against Federer.

This set up a rematch of the US Open final. Djokovic came into the final on a 9-match winning-streak, while Murray came in to the finals as a 2 time defending champion in this event. The quality of the final was of the highest standard. Novak Djokovic showed us why he is going to finish the season as world number 1. Down a set and having to save 5 match points against him in the 2nd set, Novak came through to win 5 7,7 6,6 3 in over 3 hours.

It was a major victory for Novak, re-establishing his position ahead of Murray after his defeat in the finals of the US Open. This was a big psychological boost for Novak.

This year’s U.S. Open was about two former champions retiring, an up and coming new star in the women’s game and two great champions.

SLIDESHOW: BEST OF THE U.S. OPEN

Kim Clijsters the former world number one and three time U.S. Open champion announced her retirement before the event started. Many people were hoping she would have a great run. Kim lost in the second round to Laura Robson from Britain who, at 18 years of age, was yet to live up to her hype and potential. This was a massive breakthrough for Laura to beat Kim. The entire tennis community was very sad to see Clijsters lose but she showed great sportsmanship in defeat as always. She handled her loss with great dignity and class; Kim will be truly missed from the game of tennis.

On the other hand a new star was making her big breakthrough. Could Laura Robson continue her run against world number 8 Li Na? Laura went on to beat Li Na in 3 sets to make the 4th round to play the defending Champion Sam Stosur. Laura lost in 2 very tight sets and now appears to be fulfilling her potential. In 18 months from now the big serving lefty from Great Britain will be in the top 10 in the world if she keeps improving and stays healthy. A new star is born in the woman’s game!

On the men’s side Andy Roddick, the last American man to win the U.S. Open in 2003, announced his retirement on his 30th birthday. Would this inspire him to have a great run? It did just that… Roddick played well until he came up against Juan Martin Del Potro in the 4th round. Del Potro was just too good for Roddick. It was a near perfect ending to Andy’s career going out on Arthur Ashe stadium where his greatest moment of his career happened. Andy will be truly missed from tennis having been the stalwart for American tennis for the last decade.

The men’s championships went to plan until the quarter-finals where Roger Federer, my favorite to win the tournament and world number 1, lost to the Czech Tomas Berdych in four sets. Roger was hampered going into his quarter-final match with Berdych when he got a walkover from Mardy Fish in the 4th round. This meant he had nearly five days off in between matches and lost his rhythm.

Berdych took full advantage to book his place with Andy Murray in the semi-finals. The British number one, Andy Murray, has been in great form and was many people’s pick to win his first major title after claiming Olympic Gold this summer. Their semi-final was played in 25 mph winds which favored Murray who is a great wind player. Andy won in 4 sets to make his 2nd US Open final and 2nd grand slam final in a row.

In the other semi-final Novak Djokovic beat David Ferrer over 2 days in 4 sets to make his 4th US Open final. Novak was fortunate not to finish his semi-final in the 25 mile an hour winds because of a tornado warning. Djokovic is not a great wind player because he doesn’t have the best hands. He then came out on Sunday to win, which meant that for the 5th year in a row there would be a Monday final. In my opinion, the USTA needs to build a roof; the US Open is now the only grand slam without a roof or plans to build one.

Andy Murray played the match of his life to win his first major against Novak Djokovic in one of the greatest US Open finals of all time. Andy truly deserved to win because his temperament and aggressive play at vital moments were the key. He has now ended Britain’s 76 year wait for a men’s grand slam champion. Murray is replicating his coach Ivan Lendl by winning his first major in his fifth final. Will he emulate Lendl and go on to win eight majors and become world number one? He has a great chance to do so and he could possibly finish the season number one.

In the women’s final Serena Williams defeated world number one, Victoria Azarenka. It is the first time in 17 years that the final has gone the distance. Azarenka served for the match at 5-3 up and from there Serena lifted her game as a champion does to win four games in a row to win 7-5 in the final set. Serena has now won 15 majors and if she can keep focused she will be back to number one in the world very soon. On the positives for Azarenka she looks like a real threat to Serena and they could create a great rivalry which the women’s game most definitely needs.

This really opened up the top half of the woman’s draw and meant there would be a new world number 1. Victoria Azarenka the world number 2 or Agnieszka  Radwanska the world number 3 would become the new world number 1. It all depended on who went further in the tournament.  Radwanska took full advantage of Sharapova losing and made her first Grand Slam final.

On the other side of the draw Serena Williams powered her way through the draw to get back to the finals. In the semi-finals she outclassed Azarenka, which meant Radwanska became the new world number 1 on Monday. Serena beat Radwanska in the finals in three sets but never really looked like losing the match. If Serena played a full schedule, she would be the world number 1.  This was not a good thing for woman’s tennis because the new world number 1 will be like all other previous world number 1′s on the woman’s side, who never have won a Grand Slam.

On the men’s side Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer, Andy Murray, and Jo-Wilfred Tsonga all made the semi-finals. This was the expected line up once Rafael Nadal lost in the second round.

Many were predicting a Djokovic versus Murray final, and so was I.  Roger Federer turned back time and played a blinder against Novak Djokovic to make his record breaking eighth Wimbledon final. Roger rose to the occasion and has never lost in a Wimbledon semi-final. Novak Djokovic on the other hand, came out nervously and did not manage to lift his game when he need to, for the first time since dominating men’s tennis for the last year and a half.

Andy Murray in his fourth Wimbledon semi-final came out playing his best tennis of the championships against Jo-Wilfred Tsonga. He won the first two sets in no time and looked like he was on his way to his first Wimbledon finals. Then Tsonga lifted his game in the third set to win it, but Murray showed great mental toughness to win in four sets. Ivan Lendl has done a great job and is starting to give Murray the tactical and mental edge he needs to win his first major. Andy became the first British man since Bunny Austin in 1938 to make the Wimbledon finals. Murray mania was hitting the whole nation.

The finals between Roger Federer and Andy Murray was intriguing because if Federer won, he would tie Pete Sampras with seven Wimbledon Championships and become world number 1 again. Also, breaking Sampras’s record of most weeks at number 1.

Andy Murray on the other hand was trying to win his first major and was trying to be the first male player in Britain to win the men’s singles title since the great Fred Perry in 1936.    

Andy Murray played the better tennis for a set and half, but at 6 5 30 all, Roger Federer played two of the best points I have ever seen to win the second set. Then the rains came. The roof was closed and Federer lifted his game again to win in four sets.  Federer now has won seventeen majors and surely nobody will be able to break that record. Federer looks to be back to his best and is world number 1 again.

For Andy Murray, he is on the right path and if he can play five sets at the standard of the first two sets he will win a major.

There were major upsets, epic matches, and conspiracy theories. The biggest upset in over a decade happened in the second round of the men’s singles when Rafa Nadal, many people’s pick for the championship, lost to the unheralded Lukas Rosol of the Czech Republic.

Rosol played old-fashioned grass court tennis to beat Rafa in five sets. Rosol played the match of his life and everybody was getting very excited by the Czech player. In the tennis community it was considered a one-off and everyone predicted Rosol to lose in the next round which he did. This result could go down as the biggest shock ever at Wimbledon due to Rafa’s form coming into the championships and also because the top four never lose before the quarter-finals on a worst case scenario.

This loss will hurt Nadal, but I expect him to bounce back and get a medal at the Olympics at Wimbledon this summer. With Nadal going out in the second round, everyone now believes Andy Murray will make his first Wimbledon final. Murray made it through to the second week but had a lot of things go his way in week one.

Andy’s second round match against Ivo Karlovic went his way with Karlovic being called for 11 foot faults during key moments of the match. In Karlovic’s news conference he insinuated that it was a little convenient that the foot faults were called against home hope Murray since he hadn’t been called for any at Queens Club or in his first round match.

In Murray’s next match, Hawk-Eye saved him from Marcos Baghdatis serving for the first set. Had Hawk-Eye not been used to overrule that call on break point, Murray would have probably lost the first set which could have been costly in the match. Goran Ivanisevic suggested that because of the windy conditions, Hawk-Eye had gotten the call wrong.

From his view point, the ball was out when Hawk-Eye had called it in.

Murray’s next opponent Marian Cilic won in the second longest match in Wimbledon history, prevailing 17-15 in the fifth set against Sam Querrey.

This gives Murray a huge edge because Cilic will not recover in time to put up much of a fight on Monday. These little bits of good fortune help you get through and also give you a belief that it could be your year.

Roger Federer nearly went out in the third round against Julian Benneteau from France the day after Nadal fell. Federer fought back to win in five sets, after losing the first two. The atmosphere was electric and people were thinking lightning could strike twice; which obviously didn’t happen.

It is hard to believe that the organisers played all the centre court matches on day five with the roof closed when there was only 15 minutes of rain all day. This is supposed to be an outdoor major and Wimbledon cannot give the players the opportunity for perfect conditions when there is no rain.

That was clearly a big mistake from Wimbledon and unfair to all the players outside of centre court.

There have been no problems for Novak Djokovic in week one. He looks like defending his Wimbledon title. On the men’s side expect the semi-finals to be Federer versus Djokovic, and Murray versus Tsonga. It looks like it is going to be a Djokovic versus Murray final. Can you imagine the centre court crowd if Murray was to get to a Wimbledon final?

The crowd will play a big roll if Murray is to win his first major. If he is to do so he must use the crowd, start matches better and play more aggressive. I can’t wait for the second week of Wimbledon.

Djokovic will most likely face his first test in the quarter-finals against  Richard Gasquet. While Federer’s first test could be Janko Tipsarevic in the quarter-finals as well; expect Djokovic and Federer in the semi-finals this year.

On the bottom half of the draw it is much trickier for Andy Murray and Rafa Nadal. Murray has by far the hardest task of the big four to make it into the second week.  Nadal on the other hand doesn’t have as tough a section but it will be by no means easy. However, I expect Nadal to get to the semi-finals – it is going to take a big effort from Murray to make the same stage.

Ivan Lendl will have to prepare Murray mentally for all the challenges for him to arrive at that match up with Nadal

On the woman’s side it is very hard to see anyone winning the title besides Maria Sharapova or Serena Williams – they are almost always the strongest mentally.  Sharapova on the top half of the draw has the easier task. While Serena on the bottom half has the harder task with Petra Kvitova the defending ladies champion and Victoria Azarenka in her half.

Hopefully the weather will cooperate because the forecast isn’t good for the first week of the championships. Thank goodness for the roof on centre court for guaranteed live tennis.

PHOTO: Andy Murray of Britain reacts after defeating Nikolay Davydenko of Russia in their men’s singles tennis first round match at the Wimbledon tennis championships in London June 26, 2012. REUTERS/Stefan Wermuth

Novak Djokovic was trying to be the first man in The Open era to hold all four majors at the same time and win his first French Open title; the last man to do this was the great Rod Laver in 1969.

Rafael Nadal was trying to break the record he holds with Bjorn Borg of most French Open titles won, which is held at 6. Was number 7 on the cards?

On the Ladies side, Maria Sharapova was trying to become the 10th woman in tennis history to win all 4 majors. Maria was bitterly disappointed last year when she lost in the semi-finals to Li Na after being the favourite to win the event.

The biggest shock of the French Open happened in Round 1 when Serena Williams, the bookies favourite, lost to Virginie Razzano of France. Serena has never lost in the opening round of a major before. The upsets continued in the woman’s draw with Azarenka, Li Na and Radwanska all going out early, which left little known Italian Sara Errani in the semi-finals against the world number 6 Sam Stosur. On the bottom half of the draw the top players came through; the world number 2 Maria Sharapova faced world number 4 Petra Kvitova.

Sara Errani continued her magical run and beat Sam Stosur in 3 sets. Sara showed what a champion she is, while Stosur buckled under the pressure and choked in the 3rd set. Maria Sharapova was ruthless and came through in straight sets against Petra Kvitova.

Sharapova then bossed Sara Errani all over the court to win her 4th major and became the 10th woman to win all four. Maria has shown great determination to comeback from a serious shoulder surgery which saw her out of the game for a year and a half. This makes her accomplishment even more remarkable. It’s hard to believe at Sharapova’s lowest, her ranking dropped all the way down to 126 in the world and now she is back to world number 1.

On the men’s side all the big names got to the quarterfinals. Novak Djokovic versus Jo Wilfred Tsonga was the match of the quarterfinals with Djokovic saving 4 match points in the 4 set to then go on to win in 5 sets. Tsonga played the best match of his life and still couldn’t beat the world number 1. Novak is a master of saving match points in majors and never loses belief.  He feels it is his destiny to win this tournament as he did when he saved 2 match points against Federer in the semi-finals to go onto win the US Open last year.

Roger Federer was very lucky to get through against Juan Martin Del Potro.  Federer was down 2 sets to love when Del Potro seemed to not be able to move as much as he would like because of his knee problems. Roger took full advantage to win in 5 sets. Roger hadn’t played well throughout the tournament, but still managed to set up a semi-final match up against Novak Djokovic.

Andy Murray’s match against David Ferrer didn’t really work out well for the British number one. Murray was booed onto court because the French crowd did not like his behaviour on court during his two previous matches. Murray was struggling with a back problem and looked at times like he was going to default in his matches, but managed to win. The crowd didn’t believe his injury was as serious as he was making out on the court. Ferrer fought like a champion and didn’t let anything bother him to make his first French Open semi-finals.

Rafael Nadal was ruthless as he won in straight sets again to meet David Ferrer in the semi-finals. The semi-final between Nadal and Ferrer was another 3 set win for Rafa. He looked invincible and destroyed Ferrer to reach his 7th French Open final.

The other semi-final between Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer was the talk of Paris but did not live up to expectations. Federer played poorly and Novak won in straight sets. Roger has played well at the smaller events but does not look like he will threaten Nadal or Djokovic in The Slams. It doesn’t look like Federer will win another major.

History was beckoning for either Nadal or Djokovic and the final lived up to all its billing. This final had everything; rain delays, momentum swings, Djokovic breaking his chair and a racquet. After 2 days Nadal showed us why he is the King of Clay and won in 4 enthralling sets. He now holds the men’s record of most French Open titles with 7 and counting. This win was massive for Rafa because he has finally broken his losing streak to Djokovic in Grand Slam finals.

Expect a rematch in the Wimbledon finals.

This year it looked like his streak could come to an end because World Number 1 Novak Djokovic, who missed last year’s event, was in the draw. The only player missing in the top 4 was Roger Federer who needed a little break this week.

Novak Djokovic received some very sad news when he heard his grandfather passed away on Wednesday. While Novak’s grandfather was a big influence in his life, he decided to continue to play in the event, but was visibly upset throughout his matches and still found a way to get to the finals.

Nadal has been in great form all week even though he had talked about not being as strong as he liked in his legs going into the event. Nadal has lost his last 7 matches to Novak Djokovic; could he finally beat him?

To win Nadal would have to serve at a quicker speed on his first serve with a high percentage. This would allow him to start the point on his terms instead of Djokovic’s. Also, he has to hit his forehand up the line, to the slightly weaker forehand side of Djokovic, to get the opening in the court.

Rafael Nadal went on to win Monte Carlo for the 8th time in a row, a record that will never be broken. Nadal was sensational; he served great and hit his forehand up the line very well. This was a must win for Rafa; he finally broken his 7 match losing streak to Djokovic. The king of clay is back.

Novak on the other hand played his worst match since he has become World Number 1. He looked emotionally and physically drained from the week and was not up to the fight. Don’t expect this result to dent DJokovic’s build up for the French Open.

From a British point of view, Andy Murray had a solid start to his clay court season losing to Tomas Berdych in the quarterfinals.

Berdych outclassed Murray in all departments and will be a real threat to go deep at the French Open. Murray had a great start to the season and looked like he would threaten the Top 3 but his recent form and play didn’t look comparable. Mentally he looks like the old Andy Murray and his forehand, smash, and serve don’t look as solid as they did in Australia.

At the moment it looks like Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal will be the dominant two for all of the clay court season.

All the talk at the Miami Masters Series was again about the top four and if Roger Federer would be able to continue his amazing run. Miami is a tough event to win immediately after Indian Wells due to its slower conditions, heavy humidity and at times; strong winds.

Federer was trying to win Indian Wells and Miami back-to-back for the third time in his career. Federer has been on an amazing run since losing in the semi-finals of the US Open. He has won 6 of his last 8 events and has amassed the most points of any player since mid-September of last year. Unfortunately for Roger, he lost to Andy Roddick in the third round when he ran out of gas with Roddick playing well. This will hurt Roger because he owns Roddick and had beaten him in 24 out of 26 matches up until this match.

Nadal looked great all week to get to the semi-finals but had to pull out against Murray with a re-occurring knee problem before the match started. This was such a shame because he was playing so well. Everyone in the tennis business has always had question marks over whether Nadal could hold together physically because of the way he plays and moves; it is not efficient and is extremely physical. I hope this is more of a precaution for Rafa than a serious injury.

Murray on the other hand has had everything go his way with a default in the third round against the dangerous Canadian Milo Raonic and then in the semi-finals against Rafa Nadal to be back in the Miami finals.

Novak Djokovic played great all week and beat surprise semi-finalist Juan Monaco to meet Andy Murray in the finals. Andy vs. Novak is always an interesting proposition. They grew up playing junior tennis together so they know one another inside and out, this always adds an extra dimension. Novak didn’t play his best nor did Andy, but Novak showed why he is world number one by winning 6-1 7-6. Novak does everything a little better than Andy and looks like he is going to continue to dominate men’s tennis. The match lasted over two hours for two sets because the balls and courts were too slow.

The ATP needs to either speed up the ball or speed up the court because we are not getting enough variety in tennis. All the players are playing long baseline rallies with players rarely go to the net. We need more variety of play in tennis, all types of court players; servers and volleyers, and baseliners. This needs to be addressed by the ATP tour.