On Saturday the 11th of July, Serena Williams proudly held the Venus Rosewater dish for the sixth time of her career, completing the highly anticipated Serena Slam. But if she can also be crowned US Open champion in September, then she will have completed the most illustrious and esteemed accolade in tennis – the calendar year Grand Slam, going 28 matches unbeaten on the world’s biggest stages, the ultimate demonstration of an individual’s talent and domination in the sport. A US Open win would also level her with the great Steffi Graf on 22 grand slam titles. Williams’ course to the US Open Crown will be burdened with the weight of history, but she will most likely still do it. Here are the 5 reasons why.
- Her Closest Rivals
Serena Williams – WTA ranking points 13,161. Her next rival – 6,490. And who is this ‘closest’ rival? One Maria Sharapova, the woman that Williams has beaten 17 times in a row. Realistically, Petra Kvitova is the only player who has the weapons to out-hit Serena, yet she is down at #5 after a premature Wimbledon exit. Caroline Wozniacki and Simona Halep also occupy the top five, yet both are extremely inconsistent at grand slam level. It seems that at the top of the women’s game there is plenty of depth, but not the top level player to contest with Serena.
- The Women’s Game
Women’s tennis is exceptionally strong right now, with many of the lower ranked players having the ability to bring a strong game to those at the summit of women’s tennis and often, beating them. However, we have also entered an era where many players have a very similar playing style – one of predominantly baseline play, using hard flat groundstrokes to rally with their opponent and then up the pace to fashion an opening in the point. But there is nobody with more power than Serena, and a lot of players have no B game to revert to. The style of play in women’s tennis plays into Serena’s hands massively.
- The US Open
The US Open is certainly a grand slam that Serena enjoys – 6 times a champion here and three of those wins have come in the past three years. There is also the factor of a raucous home crowd. Inside the Arthur Ashe Stadium – holding 22,547 people – Williams will have tennis’ loudest crowd and best atmosphere on her side. The slacker rules on noise levels and the night sessions make for a particularly outspoken and roaring crowd. For a home player like Williams, this can only be helpful. Perhaps only against one of the young American crop will the crowd be slightly against her.
- The Serve
As was shown at Wimbledon – where Serena racked up a total of 80 aces – Williams has the best serve on the WTA tour by some distance. In the grand slam matches this makes an enormous difference as it can earn her a few cheap points when she needs them and shorten the rallies when against fitter opposition. The Williams serve is difficult to break and, with few others able to emulate it, is a unique and vital ability that gives her an edge over all opponents.
- The Mental Side
Perhaps Serena’s most important asset in her grand slam run and why she looks set to complete the calendar year Grand Slam is her mental strength. In the French Open particularly, she showed an unnerving ability to be able to recover any deficit against various opponents, winning four of her seven matches after being a set down. At Wimbledon she did the same against Heather Watson and Victoria Azarenka. Such recoveries have acted to build the Williams resolve and at the US that will be tested. But Serena’s apparent invincibility at the majors has an effect on the person at the other side of the net as well. Heather Watson at Wimbledon served at 5-4 up in the third set, the chance to beat Serena Williams staring her in the face, yet she could not close it out. The nerves were so clear, the tightness palpable in every movement. Timea Bacsinszky in Paris in the Semi Finals had led an ill, malfunctioning Serena by a set and a break at 3-2, but then completely imploded and didn’t win another game. The pressure, being so tantalizingly close to beating the greatest woman in the game right now, has made so many players bottle it and allow Serena a way back in to matches that seemed beyond her.
So, Serena Williams fan or not you have to say, who can stop her? It will be fascinating to find out as Williams closes in on the holy grail of tennis.
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