Despite some disappointing results during 2012, Janko Tipsarevic had plenty to be cheerful about come the end of the season.
The Serbian achieved career bests at three of the four Grand Slams and enjoyed a spell at a career-high eighth place in the world rankings.
Tipsarevic got his campaign off to a positive start by reaching the final of the Chennai Open but he was beaten in three sets by Milos Raonic.
The first Slam of the year in Australia saw 'Tipsy' equal his best showing at the tournament by getting through to the third round before losing to Richard Gasquet.
A solid run at the Miami Masters followed, with a quarter-final exit securing him eighth place in the rankings ahead of Mardy Fish.
A third-round defeat to Gilles Simon in Monte Carlo came next before an impressive run at the Madrid Masters saw him beat fellow countryman and world number one Novak Djokovic at the quarter-final stage for only the second time in seven meetings.
This meant a second Masters semi-final of Tipsarevic's career, but that's where his progress stopped as he fell victim to Roger Federer in straight sets.
An opening-round loss to Stanislas Wawrinka in Rome was quickly forgotten at the French Open where he reached the fourth round for the first time. However, he was unable to make it past Nicolas Almagro.
Tipsarevic then endured a frustrating grass-court campaign as a third-round defeat to Mikhail Youzhny at Wimbledon ended a month that saw him lose to world number 59 Lu Yen-hsun at Queen's.
However, the Serb got his hands on a first title of the year when he beat Juan Monaco in the final of the Mercedes Cup in Stuttgart in July.
Another final loomed soon after in Gstaad, but he was unable to get past Thomaz Bellucci.
Djokovic gained some revenge for his defeat to Tipsarevic in Madrid when he saw off his comrade at the Rogers Cup in August.
The US Open soon followed and Tipsarevic reached the quarter-finals of a Grand Slam for only the second time of his career, but lost an epic five-setter against David Ferrer.
The Serb sealed his place in the ATP World Tour Final with victory over Monaco in Paris, only to receive plenty of criticism for retiring from his quarter-final encounter with Jerzy Janowicz due to ill health.
Tipsarevic's physical condition meant that he performed well below par at the ATP Finals in London at the start of November, losing all three of his matches.
Jack Prescott
