Anticipating today’s quarter-final matchup between Serena Williams and a more confident, more consistent Sabine Lisicki, one has to wonder whether Lisicki or anyone will be able to stop Serena on her march to her 66th WTA singles championship. Besides a walkover at Indian Wells that gave Simona Halep entry into the final there, Serena has been unbeatable this season, and is bringing a 12-0 record into the quarter-finals (two losses in the Hopman Cup do not count as it is not a WTA-sanctioned tournament). Since Wimbledon of last year, Serena only has five losses on tour; two of which were walkovers, and another was a match she was forced to retire from that she was winning. Her tourney victories include: Bank of the West, Cincinnati Masters, The US Open, WTA Tour Championships, and the first slam of 2015, the Australian Open. Her dominance is both a testament to her raw physicality and her inner desire to be the best.
Some would argue that the only thing tarnishing Serena’s current dominance is the lack of a true rival on tour. With no antagonist to her protagonist role, it can sometimes make her achievements seem flat or underwhelming when compared to other female champions of different generations. Steffi had Monica; Martina had Chrissie; Margaret Court had King. Even in the first stages of her career, Serena had Hingis, or Venus, Kim, or Henin, even Sharapova; however in the last three years, Serena has had no true rival other than her own mind and body, or if you can count the whole WTA tour as one opponent. Her rare losses have been like apparitions, coming against inspired journeywoman (Cornet, Stosur), upstarts (Muguruza), or family (Venus). No one player, and none of the big names more specifically, has been able to continually or effectively challenge her in the important moments.
Maria Sharapova, arguably the most recognizable face and name in women’s tennis other than Serena, has lost to Serena fifteen straight times, and has only managed two wins in seventeen matches. Her last win against her came in the WTA Tour Championships in 2004. In 2013, it looked as though Victoria Azarenka was priming herself to be real villain for Superwoman Serena on tour. Azarenka had two important wins over Serena at the Cincinnati Masters and at Doha improving her head to head record with Serena to a whopping three wins to fourteen losses; however, in the US Open final that year, Serena yet again gutted out the title over her emerging foe.
Injuries wrecked Azarenka’s 2014 year, and she is just now starting to find form again. Other popular names from the women’s tour hold no better records or prospects it seems: Caroline Wozniaki (1 win to 10 losses); Petra Kvitova (0 wins to 5 losses), Ana Ivanovic (1 win to 8 losses), Aga Radwanska (0 wins to 8 losses). The numbers are staggering when they are examined. Serena is peerless on tour at this moment; her level of play, her ability to compete are simply superior, and the crown of being number one is firmly placed on her head.
The only exception, the only woman at this moment seemingly in enough form to push Serena on the court (and the match that many tennis fans are clamoring for) would be Simona Halep. Although Halep only holds one victory over Serena in five tries, that one win was a thorough demolishing of Serena at last year’s tour championship—a 6-0, 6-2 thumping that truly demonstrated all the qualities that could make Halep a potential true rival for Serena.
Halep is thought of by many on tour as equally athletic and agile as Serena. Her seemingly impossible point-saving gets are often viral Twitter clips for avid tennis fans across the world. She also has that inner quality that champions have. Halep has a fierceness, an ability to dial in and focus at critical moments that means she is never out of a match. Just last week at Indian Wells alone, she came back from deep deficits three times in the tourney to claim the title. Athleticism and guile are what is needed to challenge Serena on a day in and day out basis.
Until we see more matches between the two players this season it will still all be conjecture. Serena will remain the reigning queen of the tour. While the other women on tour all have the hunger and desire to claim the spotlight, money, and number one ranking from Serena, they still have to beat her—regularly. At that same WTA Tour Championships where Halep crushed Serena in the opening match of the round robin format and many started to question if this would be the start of Simona’s ascension and Serena’s removal from top spot; Serena made it to the finals against the rising Halep and blitzed her 6-3, 6-0. It was a statement victory. Serena is the queen of the tour for a reason, and no one takes the thrown away from the queen without a battle.
