For Serena Williams, the past few months might be called the most dominating performance for a tennis player that we’ve ever seen. William’s spectacular performance in the U.S. Open championship match put, what I think, was the exclamation point on that statement.
Since winning Wimbledon in June, Williams has been an unstoppable talent. All the while, new tennis stars have come matured and become successful over the last year. This shifted the balance of power in women’s tennis. Despite these fresh faces, Williams continued to outperform all of them.
In what would be her biggest test at the U.S Open finals, Williams faced No. 1 seed Victoria Azarenka , who failed to reach the finals at either Wimbledon or the Olympic Games. It was the match that all tennis enthusiasts had been waiting for and they were not to be disappointed. Azarenka made Williams work for it. After winning the first set convincingly, 6-2, Williams faltered, and Azarenka displayed the skills that made her the top ranked player in the world.
Azarenka won the set she had to win, and she did it in a big 6-2 way to tie things up at one set apiece. But the unrelenting Williams wouldn’t be denied, and she hung in there during the third and final set when things seemed to be shifting in Azarenka’s favor.
With the championship on the line and Azarenka serving for the match, Williams frantically and loudly broke her serve and successively won the next two sets to win her second Grand Slam title of the year in trilling fashion.
Over the season Williams seemed to easily cruise to her other titles, including her London Olympics win over Maria Sharapova where she shouted in delight and then hopped like a school kid on a playground. However, there would be no dancing her way to victory, the U.S
Open adversity was everywhere.
Williams is undeniably no stranger to difficulty, and she proved that once again in her U.S Open triumph. She has worked hard to improve her game at all levels. She knows how to harness her power and conserve it for the right moment. Those tricky angles that she can hit cross court require finesse to pull off. She volleys well and she’s very comfortable at the net; she also has a great overhead. She can pull off a drop shot in a rally after bashing 12 balls deep into the baseline. She can hit winners from anywhere on the court. And, when her opponent charges the net, she has the option of hitting a topspin lob or smack a passing shot by her.
She’s not solely a server and volleyer, she’s not purely a defensive player, and she doesn’t just rely heavily on offensive baseline play. Williams possesses an all court game which she can adapt to all surfaces, making her a formidable opponent in the tennis world. She took the hard route by having to face Agnieszka Radwanska in the Wimbledon final back in July, but she stood tall and took a dominating early set to win a grueling, three set match, 6-1, 5-7, 6-2. Despite the game going full time, the result was never in question, as Serena fought her way to her fifth Wimbledon title and back atop the tennis world.
Serena Williams has done more than just win Wimbledon, the U.S. Open and Olympics gold this summer; she’s owned the entire sport of tennis- men’s and women’s. The spotlight has been hers, and she’s proved over and over, that she’s still Queen of tennis.
