The 27-year wait for a woman to sweep all four majors in a single season will go on after Serena Williams' shocking semi-final defeat to Roberta Vinci at the US Open.

Williams had been looking to join Maureen Connolly Brinker, Margaret Court and Steffi Graf in achieving the feat, but allowed Vinci to come from behind and end her bid for history at Flushing Meadows on Friday.

We take a look at how Connolly, Court and Graf  racked up their record haul - an achievement that may now remain a pipe dream for the 33-year-old Williams.

Maureen Connolly Brinker (1953)

Connolly's tennis career was tragically cut short following a horse riding accident in 1954, but the American became the first woman to claim a calendar Grand Slam without dropping a set a year prior.

After breaking through for her maiden grand slam crown - aged just 16 - at the 1951 US Open, a tournament she successfully defended 12 months later and added to at Wimbledon, Connolly's sweep of all four majors opened with an accomplished win over Julie Sampson 6-3 6-2.

Her next three grand slam victories came against compatriot and rival Doris Hart. The Hall of Famer hoisted the French Open title aloft via a 6-2 6-4 triumph. Connolly and Hart resumed hostilities in London, where the former retained her Wimbledon crown after prevailing 8-6 7-5 in a women's final regarded as one of the greatest ever at SW19. The Grand Slam was complete two months later in New York, when Connolly dispatched the six-time major champion 6-2 6-4.

Margaret Court (1970)

Record holder Court, who won 24 major singles titles throughout her illustrious career, was the next woman to clinch all four grand slams 45 years ago.

The Australian was the first to achieve it during the Open era.

Court temporarily retired from tennis after Wimbledon in 1966 but the Australian returned two years later and with a bang, sweeping the circuit in 1970 courtesy of wins over Kerry Melville Reid (6-1 6-3), Helga Niessen Masthoff (6-2 6-4), Billie Jean King and Rosemary Casals (6-2 2-6 6-1) in Melbourne, Paris, London and New York respectively.

The highlight of Court's calendar-year achievement was her memorable victory versus King at Wimbledon. Both players battled leg injuries in the final but Court outlasted her opponent 14-12 11-9 in a match for the ages.

Steffi Graf (1988)

Before Williams, the women's game had another supreme force in the form of 22-time grand slam champion Graf.

Graf won all four tournaments 27 years ago but she went one better and claimed Olympic Games gold in Seoul - completing a 'Golden Slam'.

The German blitzed the Australian Open field without losing a set as she accounted for Chris Evert 6-1 7-6 in the 1988 final. Graf repeated the feat in Paris four months later, condemning 17-year-old Natasha Zvereva to a 32-minute double bagel - the first in French Open history and first in any grand slam final since 1911.

Six-time Wimbledon champion Martina Navratilova was next on the list, beaten 5-7 6-2 6-1 after Graf won the final nine points of the match.

Graff wrapped up the unprecedented Golden Slam against Gabriela Sabatini. The first win came via a 6-3 3-6 6-1 victory in New York before Graf prevailed in the gold-medal contest 6-3 6-3 in the Korean capital.