"In unfamiliar territory"

Four years ago from this very week, Serena Williams was at the top of the women's tennis world. She was in Melbourne, Australia, about to win the Australian Open, her fourth consecutive grand slam title.

She was unstoppable. Not only was she the most powerful player on the WTA - by far - but she could also move deceivingly quick from one side of the court to the other to chase down what opponents considered winners. Watching her four years ago, I thought she was becoming the Tiger Woods of tennis. I thought she would motivate thousands of inner city kids to take up tennis and try to become the next Serena.

While I didn't think she'd win every grand slam, I thought she'd consistently win at least one or two every year and be the best women's tennis player for years to come.

Oh, how things have changed.

Four years later, Williams is back in Melbourne, ready for another run at the year's first grand slam. But she is far from the No. 1 player on tour. She is ranked 81st on the tour. She played in just five tournaments last year, not winning one of them. She has won just one grand slam event since Wimbledon in 2003 - the 2005 Australian Open.

Williams has fallen off the map.

She has only herself to blame.

If Williams wanted to be the best women's tennis player of all time, I wouldn't bet against her. She was that good. The thing is, the fame got to her. Once she became the United States' most popular female athlete, she started soaking in her celebrity. There were endless parties to attend, business opportunities outside of tennis to pursue.

She lost her focus. She didn't train as much, didn't put in as much time. As a result, her fitness level deteriorated. And the last three seasons injuries have taken her under. I'm not one to say what caused the injuries, but it's well known within the sports world that it's easier to sustain injuries at the highest level of competition when an athlete isn't in top-notch shape.

Of course this doesn't take away from what Williams has accomplished, both on and off the court. She still has seven grand slam singles titles to her name, and when she won four consecutive grand slams in 2002 and 2003 it was just the sixth time it's been done. If her career ended today, she'd still be considered one of the top players of all time.

But, still, I feel she has underachieved.

She fell as low as 139th in the world last season. It takes some serious falling to go from No. 1 to No. 139.

Martina Hingis, who has never made her distaste for the Williams sisters – Serena and her older sister, Venus - private, hit it on the nail when talking about Williams' current situation.

"With the sisters, it's always been either they are or they're not. It's always if they really want it and they're hungry," Hingis said in an Associated Press article.

Williams admitted, in a New York Times article, that she hasn't always put her heart and full effort into tennis: "It's all my fault, I guess. I should have been a little more serious. But it won't happen again, at least as long as I'm playing."

Williams says she is hungry now. She's ready to get back on the tennis court and attempt to regain her spot as one of the game's elite players. But this time her ascent to the top will be far from easy. Even Williams' playing partner, Baris Ergun, is not sure whether Williams will be able to get back her magic.

"I have my doubts," Ergun said in the same NYT article.

So do I. Williams is out of shape, and it will take several tournaments before she gets back into the kind of shape she was in four years ago (and even then, will she be able to regain her form?). She still has that power, but she will struggle against players who make her move laterally.

I'm not giving up on her, though. If she puts aside all that other stuff - the Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue photo shoots and the acting gigs - and completely focuses on tennis, Williams, 25, has a chance to get back to the top.

Right now there isn't a dominating player in the game. Justine Henin-Hardenne has shown glimpses of brilliance, but she is far from overpowering. Amelie Mauresmo won two majors a year ago, but then struggled the second half of the season. Perhaps Maria Sharapova is poised to become the next Serena Williams. At 19, Sharapova won her second major at the U.S. Open last September. But she still has to prove she can consistently play like she did in Flushing, N.Y.

The top spot is up for grabs.

It's not even in Williams' sight right now. She'll have to start from the bottom and work her way up.

Something that would have seemed improbable four years ago.