Anticipated as the showdown was, it lived up to the hype as Serena Williams claimed a 6-2, 1-6, 6-3 victory over her elder sister, Venus Williams. The three-time reigning champion at Flushing Meadows improved to 16-11 overall against her sensational sibling.
"She's the toughest player I've ever played...against your best friend and...the greatest competitor in women's tennis," Serena said of Venus afterward, per the tournament's official Twitter account.
ESPN's J.A. Adande made an astute observation that is a testament to how Serena has evolved over the years of her prolific career:
That was true at least for the opening set—until the tables turned to set the stage for a decider. Points were short thanks to powerful groundstrokes from both sides of the court, with massive momentum swings across all three sets.
ESPN Stats & Info highlighted how historic the full-length match was:
The Williams sisters' matchup at Arthur Ashe Stadium saw a resurgent Venus seeking to play spoiler to her younger sibling's bid for a calendar-year Grand Slam. It didn't seem to be even a remote possibility at the beginning.
Serena managed to convert two break-point opportunities in the first set and won 48 percent of her receiving points despite Venus hitting 64 percent of her first serves in play. The latter only won three of 12 points on her second serves, which is what contributed most to the lopsided outcome of the opening set.
The tournament's official Twitter account highlighted the quality of tennis on display from the player who has to be considered the greatest in women's tennis history:
Serena explained prior to the match why her sister would be such a difficult opponent.
"The only player in the draw I don't want to play, not only because she's my sister, but for me she's the best player," she said, per CNN.com. She added: "She has beaten me so many times. ... She's a player that knows how to win, knows how to beat me and knows my weaknesses better than anyone."
Venus' hopes were renewed when her sister hit a double-fault on the second ad-out point while trailing 2-1 to get the crowd back into the match.
Then the older Williams rattled off four straight points to take a commanding 4-1 lead, having not lost a point on serve in the set. The Nation's Dave Zirin poked fun at those who thought Serena's victory was a foregone conclusion:
Another break in Venus' favor followed. After she earned one last hold and converted her third set point, she forced Serena to her 11th three-set match in Grand Slam tournaments this year.
Former tennis professional Rennae Stubbs weighed in on what made Venus so effective in her dominant second set:
What would have been a double-fault by Serena to make the opening third-set game go to deuce was instead overruled. Venus opted not to challenge the call, Serena notched an ace on the subsequent point and Venus got only one point on her next serve to fall behind 2-0.
Howard Bryant of ESPN The Magazine criticized Venus for not appealing the critical point that could've changed the complexion of the set and match:
After fighting off another break point, Serena took a commanding 3-0 lead.
Among the 12 aces Serena hit, almost all of them came when she badly needed to win a point to gain leverage—and she closed out the evening with her last one.
The seesaw battle led to the more superior player of late coming out on top, yet that expected bottom-line result didn't diminish the overall entertainment value of the match.
ESPN's Cari Champion did well to summarize the impact both women have had on the tennis landscape:
It would have been fascinating to see whether Venus could have parlayed an early third-set break into an upset for the ages. That's about the only complaint that emerged from Tuesday's match. Most tennis fans probably got what they wanted out of the latest clash between the Williams sisters.
Although the story of Venus' resurgence is fascinating, her sister has a chance at achieving immortality. After clearing an extraordinary hurdle in the quarterfinals, Serena's pursuit of a 22nd major title is still intact.
Next up for Serena in the semifinals is Roberta Vinci, who may be a less challenging opponent because of the familiarity factor Serena alluded to before her big Tuesday test.
Based on how well Venus played, she may not be done contending in Grand Slam tournaments even at age 35.
No comments:
Post a Comment