Serena Williams at the top bodes well for women’s tennis. As much as she needs the game, the game needs her and all that she has come to define, writes Nandita Sridhar.
It’s not just self-belief that steadfastly rears its head in Serena Williams’s conquests. The 26-year-old 2008 US Open champion is an incredible talent, a big-match player and a remarkable athlete with combative instincts having acquired a life of their own. Despite what’s believed, the fashionista is the alter ego that keeps the tennis player tuned in to the sport. In claiming her third US Open crown and her ninth Grand Slam title without dropping a set in the entire tournament, Serena made a mockery of the typecast Williams who does it all for a lark. Her victory has only reiterated the need to respect and embrace the American purely for the player she is.
Tightly draped in flaming red while running across the Arthur Ashe Stadium court, Serena consistently looked the multi-faceted tennis great that she is. Her dominant physical abilities — Dinara Safina, her semifinal opponent, nearly suffered bodily damage in dealing with it — betray little of the variation she is capable of and the accuracy her groundstrokes carry.
The final against Jelena Jankovic was perceived as a battle of styles. The match-up between the proactive aggressor and the elastic counter-puncher lived up to expectations. Jankovic ran everything down, but Serena had something more. Jankovic’s ability to open the court with a down-the-line backhand was pre-empted by the American. After the histrionically charged Wimbledon final loss to sister Venus, Serena’s emotions were under control through the two weeks in New York.
“I feel like I have a new career, like I feel so young and I feel so energised to play every week and to play every tournament. I feel like there’s just so much that I can do in my career yet, and I’ve never felt like I’ve played my best tennis,” said Serena after the win.
The need to understand the Williams sisters takes on a heightened sense of urgency every time one of them wins a Grand Slam title. The recent successes of Serena and Venus should put an end to talks of tennis being their relief from the drear of everything else and Grand Slam wins built on a depthless women’s field.
In many ways, the success of the Williams sisters on the Grand Slam stage isn’t despite their interests outside the sport. Serena and Venus might have set the rules for sustenance in the ridiculously packed Tour. Post-teenage burnouts have been a feature in the last two years. The game needs champions, personalities and most importantly in the context of modern sport, stars. In surviving the years of the grind, their methods are unquestionable.
There’s a touch of envy in denouncing their lack of single-minded focus. Winning Slams and living it up outside of it appear outrageous. How could (dare) they do it?
Serena is quick to add it’s possible, and even quicker to add not all can accomplish it. “I just have to focus on what I can do, and I still do a lot of things. You know, I’m on the phone at night talking to different people about designs within ANERES, and then I wake up and I have a match. It can be done. You just have to be able to do it. Not everyone can do it.”
Serena’s victory in New York and the World No. 1 ranking now opens a possible WTA situation the Tour desperately needed post- Justine Henin. The rankings have reflected success ratios and points garnered, but yearned for a great champion. Serena at the top of the rankings feels right.
But the biggest worry for Serena will be how she responds to injuries, which have been a Tour concern throughout the year. The efforts do come at a price and she is not alone in the battle to stay fit.
“I’ve been working so hard all year. Sometimes I wake up at like six in the morning to go practice and if it was too dark, I would have to wait until it gets light. It’s just paying off. No one really, really knows the work that an athlete puts in. You know, it’s worth it. Then I felt like, ‘Gosh, I’ve been working the hardest. I should win’.”
No one can guess how much further Serena can go. Nine Grand Slam titles at 26 is remarkable in itself. How much more injury can her body take? How much further can the rest progress when up against the sisters? How much further does Serena think she can go?
“I’m at number nine. I’m knocking at the door of double digits. I have the game to do it. I obviously play well in Australia, and that’s coming up soon, so maybe there. I have to win another French Open and I love Wimbledon. I love winning Grand Slams, so I look forward to it.”
Serena at the top bodes well for women’s tennis, though recent trends do not point to a long-term world No. 1. As much as she needs the game, the game needs her and all that she has come to define.
* * *SERENA’S SLAMS2008: US Open2007: Australian Open2005: Australian Open2003: Australian Open, Wimbledon2002: French Open, Wimbledon, US Open1999: US Open
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