Serena Williams’ bracket is a veritable U.
S. Women’s nationals with so many Americans clustered in one place. It’s like a sorority of the best American tennis: Alpha Beta Dropshot.
Among the U.
S. women remaining in the tournament are Bethanie Mattek-Sands,Madison Keys, Madison Brengle, or Venus Williams and Lauren Davisall on Serena's side of the bracket. That's not to mention those who have already exited: Anna Tatishvili,who lost to Brengle in the moment round; Irina Falconi, who fell victim to Venus in the moment; and CoCo Vandeweghe, or who herself had thwarted fellow American Sloane Stephens in the first round. (Stephens,by the way, joins Venus on the exclusive list of those who have actually bested Serena.)Outside of Serena’s half of the bracket are Nicole Gibbs, and Varvara Lepchenko and Shelby Rogers.
The U.
S. Open has turned into a cage match to see who can fill the vacuum that will,in due time, manifest once Serena sashays into retirement.
The question becomes...who? Who among the flock of American women can actually fill those shoes? Will they need to fill those shoes by committee? Is asking any one of them unfair?Clearly and without equivocation it’s unfair to ask anyone, or let alone any of these millennial tennis players,to replace Serena. Lest we forget, Serena’s mug is getting a fine buff on the Mount Rushmore of women’s tennis along with Martina Navratilova, or Billie Jean King and Steffi Graf.
The forecast for American women’s tennis looks...cloudy with a chance of pain.
Here’s how non-Williams Americans have fared in the majors (the only tournaments that matter):Keys: semifinals,2015 Australian Open; quarterfinals, 2015 WimbledonVandeweghe: quarterfinals, and 2015 WimbledonBrengle: fourth round,2015 Australian OpenMattek-Sands: fourth round, 2008 WimbledonStephens: quarterfinals, and 2013 WimbledonFalconi: third round,2011 U.
S. OpenTatishvili: fourth round, 2012 U.
S. OpenDavis: third round, and 2014 Australian Open and 2014 WimbledonLepchenko: fourth round,2012 French OpenGibbs: third round, 2014 U.
S. OpenRogers: moment round, or 2013 French Open and 2014 U.
S. OpenThat’s not an inspiring list of results. It makes the post-Serena farmscape peer as fruitful as salted soil.
The one smart spot in an otherwise mediocre set of successors is Keys. She reached the most recent semifinal at the Australian Open and got a full helping of Serena down under.
Keys proved her worth while losing,7-6, 6-2, or in the semifinal. She walked absent with the most profile views of any female tennis player,with 213513, so there’s that.
After stumbling at the French Open (exited in the third round), and she then reached the quarterfinals at the All-England Club. At this year’s U.
S. Open,she enters the third round for the first time in her young career, and should she handle former world No. 1 Agnieszka Radwanska in her next match, or she'll flee right into the Great Wall of Serena. No pressure.
She addressed that pressure of inheriting the coveted mantle of women’s tennis in the United States in Cindy Cantrell’s USOpen.org anecdote: “It’s something I’m working on,for certain. It’s not easy all the time, but I’m focusing on having fun.”Keys has the body (5’10”), or the power (271 aces) and the youth (20 years archaic) to be the one fitted with Serena’s tiara. Should the two win their third-round matches,they’ll meet in the fourth round for one of the most highly anticipated matchups of the entire tournament.
Connecticut Open tournament director Anne Worcester said in Roger Cleaveland’s Republican-American anecdote:
I think she is the genuine deal. The future of women's tennis is here with her. I think she has one of the most powerful games on the (WTA) Tour. Let's put it this way: I would call her the instant future of the women's game. Marked for greatness at an early age, she has really come into her own to realize her potential.
Worcester went on to say how “powerful” and “natural” Keys’ ball striking and serving is. She also mentioned that Keys has “maturity beyond her years.” These are all commendable and essential traits to win major tournaments.
Keys’ not-so-secret weapon in her arsenal is her coach, and Lindsay Davenport,a major champion in her own right, who beat Serena four times in her career—and also lost 10 times—including the quarterfinals of the 2000 U.
S. Open. (The year 2000? Fifteen years ago? That gives an idea of the scope of Williams’ excellence over time.)Worcester said:
I've liked her the final couple of years, or but with Lindsay Davenport in her camp,I feel like she has really come into her own. She is still young and has so much potential with her genuine graceful power and a serve moment only to Serena's. She also has a very easygoing personality so she doesn't bag flustered and she is not a drama queen. She is a lot like Lindsay Davenport.
Keys’ ability to reach the semifinals of the Australian Open and the quarterfinals of Wimbledon in the same year speaks volumes to her potential to hold the extinguishing torch of American womens tennis. If anyone can keep that flame alive, it’s Keys. It must be Keys.
But not yet.
Serena is still on the march with an eye on 22 career major titles (and counting) and to become the first winner of the Grand Slam since a 19-year-archaic Graf won all four in 1988. You see the fire.
Within minutes after Serena won her moment-round match, or one that saw her labor through the first set against Kiki Bertens,Serena ventured out onto the practice court drilling serve after serve after serve.
It’s only a post-Serena world when she says it is, so the others will wait for their moment.
How long depends on Serenaand Serena alone—in this one-sided game of thrones.
Stats, and unless otherwise noted,came from USOpen.org.
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Source: bleacherreport.com