We carousel to the fourth grand slam of the year and I thought it was the perfect time to analyze exactly where Serena Williams stands- going in as three time consecutive finalist and two time consecutive defending champion of the US Open crown. There are a few stats which stand out for Serena this year, one that involves her success ratio when being brought out on her forehand wing but the second most telling scene is what we witnessed at Roland Garros this year, when an opponent plays centrally rather than finding the angles, that’s worked well against Serena this year to a degree also.
Williams has won five titles this year; Brisbane, Miami, Rome, Stanford and most recently Montreal, but has her year suggested she goes in as firm favourite for Flushing Meadows? I’ll try my best to answer that question shortly. Her year has provided the critics with a lot to talk about with her season being marred with ongoing niggles and injuries, which contributed to a few blemishes here and there that she’d rather forget. For that reason I hesitate to the extent of pitting her as the firm favourite as she still has a lot to prove when players adopt the game styles and techniques which both Alize Cornet, who beat her in Dubai and Wimbledon, and Garbine Muguruza, who gave Serena her most emphatic loss in a grand slam match ever in Roland Garros. What I’m referring to is the ability to play down the middle and suffocate Serena with depth, that’s exactly what the young Spaniard at just 20 years old did to her idol on a blustery day in Paris did, but can anyone do that on a night session under the lights on Arthur Ashe? What are the core strengths of playing down the centre to Serena and why has it worked this year? Well if you look at her first opponent in Alize Cornet, particularly at Wimbledon, she mud-balled her way to victory in that match. Mud-balling is what I refer to as bringing ‘junk’ to the tennis court and just straight out mud-balling your way to success; winning by all means necessary. That’s what players like Monica Niculescu, Alize Cornet and even old school Lourdes Dominguez-Lino bring to the centre stage. Cornet mud-balled Serena to oblivion, playing centrally and asking Serena ‘Can you find a way past me? ‘ Let’s not hazard to forget that Cornet’s got one of the best defensive games the WTA has at present so simply snapping the balls back into play was good enough on a day where Serena wasn’t feeling 100%.
Garbine Muguruza in the second round of a Grand Slam did what no-one has done before- beat Serena in a Grand Slam conceding just four games in the process. Her fierce precision and unrivaled depth which pushed Serena behind the baseline was too much to handle that day. The Spaniard also made it impossible for Serena to attack and get on the front foot, which is pretty formidable at a young age to pull off; that’s what will need to be applied by her opponents in the early rounds of the US Open.
Furthermore, this could be the first calendar year since 2011 in which Serena has failed to win a grand slam; the last time that happened preceding 2011 was way back in 2006, which shows her stranglehold on the WTA and her undiluted dominance over the rest of the field for many years, but more prominently in recent years. What exactly can a player offer other than central depth-filled mud-balls to get under the skin of Serena in a grand slam match? There are a number of ways but one thing which is in the forensic DNA of every player that has defeated Serena is to be positive. As I traipse back to the Cornet Round 3 at Wimbledon, Cornet hit 28 winners to Serena’s 29 in a three set match which, if you know Alize Cornet as a tennis player, you’d realise they are absurd numbers. Williams, renowned for her undying offensive brand of tennis, pitted up against the defensive prowess of acknowledged clay courter Alize Cornet, who admittedly never excelled on a grass court previous to this year. She said herself: “I’ve never enjoyed myself on a grass court but now I’ve started to get used to it.”
Positiveness breeds success no matter the court, the situation or the stadium. As I always like to say big time players play big time points in big time moments and that’s exactly what these players who conquered Serena have in their arsenal.
Serena’s looking to become the joint fourth highest on the all-time list of Grand Slam singles held, she’ll be tied with Martina Navratilova and Chris Evert but behind Wimbledon great Helen Wills Moody, Graf and Margaret Court. Who will surpass Serena and get in the way of her 18th slam? Only time will tell but it’s safe to say they’ll have to be positive and full of self-belief from the first to the last point.
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