Serena – US Open Winners

Serena Williams to be next Steffi Graff

Patrick Mouratoglou who has been coaching the World no. 2 Serena Williams for quite some time wants the American star to leave Steffi Graff behind and become the leading Grand Slam winner of all time in the female category of professional tennis.

Serena inched a step closer to Graff by winning the American open title on the home soil last month. She had not had a great year before that tournament, but, she was rejuvenated playing at Flushing Meadows and by winning her 18^th slam, she was able to draw level with the Czech legend Martina Navratilova.

Serena is still quite a bit away from Graff though. She needs 4 more slams to get to her and 5 more to overtake her. She is not getting any younger now. At 33, she might have passed the best phase of her career. This year, there have already been signs that her body is playing a few tricks. She hasn’t looked the fittest on the court of late.

So, breaking Graff’s record or even equalizing it is not going to be a cake walk for Serena from here onwards. Motivation would also be a big factor. Having already played the game for almost 20 years and having won so much, does she have the hunger to keep going until she gets past Graff? According to Mouratoglou, she absolutely has.

Speaking in an interview, the Frenchman said, “There’s no lack of motivation as far as Serena is concerned. She is very keen to rewrite the history books.”

“To be alright in terms of health and fitness is vital for her, but, she is being taken care of by a fantastic medical group. So, I am that much concerned about it.”

“She will have to get to 23 step by step. She just needs to think about the 19^th right now, then the 20^th and so on.”

WOODBRIDGE PRAISES SERENA

The former Australian player, Todd Woodbridge, has praised Serena Williams for her performances in recent times and has said that it’s very hard to beat the American superstar at this point of time.

Serena had been in terrific form throughout the last season. She dominated in most of the big tournaments and lifted a couple of Grand Slam trophies i.e. the French Open and the US open. She was the no. 1 player in the world when the last season ended.

Almost all the tennis experts consider Serena the top favourite to win the Australian Open next year and Woodbridge is no different.

When asked which female player he reckons has the best chance of achieving glory in the singles competition of the Australian Open, he said, “At the moment, it seems impossible to get better of Serena. She has been playing the best tennis of her life and it’s only the injuries which can stop her from winning the Grand Slams next year. She has been the strongest contender in all the big competitions in the last few years.”

Woodbridge also backed her compatriot Samantha Stosur who has been facing a lot of criticism of late for her poor form in the last season. The 42 years old former doubles specialist reckons that Stosur can silence her critics in the next season.

When asked about Stosur, Woodbridge said, “She was quite clearly not even close to her best in the last season, but, she has got the potential and the good thing is that she is not going to carry the burden of expectations in the next season. She will have nothing to lose. So, she can just go out there and try to enjoy herself. I am backing her to put up good performances and answer her critics.”

SERENA THROUGH

Serena Williams has defeated Garbine Muguruza of Spain in the second round of the Australian Open 2013. Serena won the match in the straight sets by 6-2, 6-0. This was another world class performance by the great American who took just 1 hour and 15 minutes to make her way into the next round.

But, while playing in the match, Serena suffered an ankle injury. She injured her ankle when she was ahead by 4-0 in the opening set. She immediately took the assistance of her physiotherapist and then, continued playing. Even after getting injured, Serena’s performance didn’t deteriorate, but, it was quite evident that her movement was not fluent. She was having a bit of problem in moving, but, despite that, she didn’t give the 19 years old Spaniard any opportunity whatsoever.

Serena had put up a brutal performance in her first round match. She hadn’t lost even a single game in that match. She was expected to put up another great show against Muguruza. Serena stood up to the expectations and started the match in style. With the help of two successive breakthroughs, she won the first four games in the opening set. Although, the Spaniard held her service in the fifth and the seventh game, but, she needed breakthroughs to stop Serena from winning the set. She didn’t get any breakthrough and lost the set by 2-6.

In the second set, Serena showed why she is considered as one of the best female tennis players of all times. She played some amazing shots and thoroughly entertained the spectators who were out there. She won six games on the trot and finished off the match in a hurry.

In the next match, Serena Williams will take on Ayumi Morita of Japan.

SERENA WINS OPENING MATCH

Serena Williams has defeated Varvara Lepchenko of USA in her opening match of the Brisbane International Tennis tournament. Serena won the match in the straight sets by 6-2, 6-1. Serena who is currently at no. 3 in the official rankings of WTA was in destructive mood and she didn’t let Lepchenko settle down at any point of time in the match. She took less than an hour to secure her victory. This was the first match between these two players.

Serena had gone through a toe surgery a few days back and there was a question mark on her fitness. But, the way Serena moved on the court during this match; she proved that she was 100% fit.

Lepchenko had a chance to give Serena the first blow in the opening game of the first set. But, she didn’t manage to take advantage of the two breakpoints that she got. After that, Serena gave her no chance whatsoever. The world no. 3 got two consecutive breakthroughs and won the first four games in a row to take a lead of 4-0.

Lepchenko made a bit of a comeback by breaking Serena’s service in the fifth game and then, holding her service in the sixth game. But, Serena wrapped up the set by winning the next couple of games consecutively.

In the second set, the first two games went with the serve, but, after that, it was all about Serena. She broke Lepchenko’s service thrice and won the last five games in a row to win the match.

Serena banged in five aces and capitalized on six out of the seven breakpoints that she got.

In her next match, Serena will take on the winner of the match between Alize Cornet and a qualifier.

SERENA IS WORLD BEST

The Russian tennis superstar, Maria Sharapova, has said that Serena Williams is the best female tennis player in the world at the moment and she deserved to be the no. 1 player in the world at the end of the season. Serena has played some fantastic tennis of late, but, she didn’t manage to finish the season as the no. 1 player in the world because of her poor performances in the earlier part of the season. The Belarusian player, Victoria Azarenka, has finished the season as the world no. 1.

Serena has recently won the WTA Championships which was the last event of the season. She played five matches in that tournament and won all of them. In the round rubber matches, she defeated Angelique Kerber, Li Na and the world no. 1 Victoria Azarenka. In the semi final match, she got better of Agnieszka Radanska and then, in the final, she defeated the Russian no. 1 Maria Sharapova.

Serena played a total of 61 matches in this season and she won 58 of them. Out of her last 32 matches, she lost only one. The 31 years old America won a total of five titles in this season including a couple of Grand Slams. Those two Grand slams were Wimbledon Championships and US Open. She also won the gold medal in the singles competition of London Olympics.

After being defeated by Serena in the final of the WTA Championships, Sharapova said, “Serena is the greatest player around at the moment. She is just superb. The way she has played in the last few months, I think she should have finished the season at the top of the WTA rankings. You look at her record in the last few months. She has been defeated in only one match since June. It’s really amazing.”

SERENA MISSES OUT

Serena Williams has been defeated by Angelique Kerber of Germany in the quarter final of the Western and Southern Open at Cincinnati. Serena has been in amazing form since the last two months. She had won the Wimbledon Championship and then, she went on to win the Gold medal in the London Olympics. Serena’s fans expecting her to win the Cincinnati open as well, but, Kerber shocked Serena in the quarter final match. The German player won the match in the straight sets by 6-4, 6-4. Kerber defeated Serena in just 76 minutes.

Kerber kept Serena under pressure right from the start of the match. Serena’s service was broken in the very first game of the first set. Kerber held her service in the second game to take a lead of 2-0. Kerber kept herself ahead throughout the set and won the first set by 6-4. Serena played some very poor shots in the first set. Serena continued making mistakes in the second set as well. Kerber broke Serena’s service once in the second set and kept her lead till the end to win the second set by the same margin of 6-4.

In the post match interview, Serena said that she has played a lot of tennis in the recent times and she needs a bit of rest. She would be quite refreshed for the US Open after resting for 2 or 3 days. As per Serena, you can’t win all the matches that you play. It was just one of those days when everything went wrong for her. On the other hand, Kerber was overjoyed after beating one of the greatest female tennis players of all times. She said that she wasn’t that confident before going into the match, but, Serena made her job easy by playing some loose shots.