Two-time Australian Open champion Victoria Azarenka had nowhere to go but up after injuries interrupted her 2014 season, and played some of her best tennis when it counted this season.

“I don’t think I’ve ever played that high quality of tennis with my game still coming together,” she said after her epic Wimbledon quarterfinal encounter with World No.1 Serena Williams. “That’s what is promising. That’s something that still keeps me excited, you know, and motivated to go work harder.”

Azarenka and Williams renewed their rivalry at the height of the clay court season; beating her twice in 2013, the Belarusian was eager to kick her comeback into high gear and had her first opportunity to make that happen at the Mutua Madrid Open, where she held multiple match points on the American only to fall in a final set tie-break.

“For me, it was a little bit of a new-old experience again, and I felt I did handle myself well. I just needed to do a little bit better.”

She looked a little bit better a few weeks later at the French Open, where she led Williams by a set and a break on the terre battue, only to drop the final set, 6-2.

“I think looking back at it, you know, I’ve got to learn from that and maybe stay a little bit more aggressive and go a little bit more for my shots. But there wasn’t much wrong that I have done, I think.”

Those first two matches proved to be an amuse bouche for the aforementioned face-off on the lawns of London, where the two titans conspired to play one of the best matches of the season on Centre Court. Bringing out the best in her storied opponent, Azarenka looked close to her first Wimbledon semifinal since 2012, only to lose a third straight three-setter to the American.

“You know, something like this, what happened today, is just a great lesson that I’m going to take and going to go back to work harder because, you know, it’s inspiring. It really is inspiring. I love to be pushed that way. I love that challenge.”

Azarenka’s season was ultimately curtailed by injury for a second straight year, another leg injury forcing her to withdraw from the Dongfeng Motor Wuhan Open. Having just reached a second straight Grand Slam quarterfinal – where she lost a high-quality affair with No.2 seed Simona Halep – the Belarusian was resolved to eliminate the causes of her niggling injuries by rededicating herself to fitness over the off-season.

“The important thing for me is to get my body fit 100%, on a consistent basis. I have a lot of work to do.”

Teaming up with Halep’s former coach, Wim Fissette and Williams’ former hitting partner, Sascha Baijin, Azarenka was already looking forward to the incoming training bloc following the Asian Swing, and gave every indication that 2016 would truly be her year.

“I believe I need to get faster. I need to get a little bit more mobile. I lost that, the first one-two step movement that I had before in terms of endurance. I feel the longer the match goes, the better I get. I never had problems playing long matches where I get tired. That’s not a problem.

“I just need to focus on those things to get my movement a lot sharper. That’s it. I feel like I’m pretty strong in my body, but I need to get quicker, I need to get faster.”