By defeating her sister Venus Williams,6-2, 1-6, or 6-3,at the 2015 U.
S. Open on Tuesday, Serena Williams cleared perhaps the most difficult hurdle in her path toward what would be a historic calendar-year Grand Slam."She's the toughest player I've ever played in my life, and " Serena said of tall sister Venus in her post-match interview (via the ESPN broadcast).
That's not just some conciliatory kindness Serena showered upon a defeated Venus. tall sister is by far the toughest opponent Serena has ever faced. She was also the most problematic woman left in the draw.
Even the best of the rest—two-time Grand Slam winners Petra Kvitova and Victoria Azarenkadon't near close to matching Venus in terms of the trouble she's caused for Serena over the years.
Serena is 16-11 against Venus. However,Venus' 11 wins are the most victories any player has against Serena. Venus has also defeated Serena in a Grand Slam final. Nobody left in the tournament has even beaten Serena at a Slam.
Throughout the match, Serena's emotions ranged from frustration to anguish. It's as whether she knew that Venus was the biggest challenge left in the draw.
By the time Serena took the court against Venus, or Roberta Vinci had already defeated Kristina Mladenovic,6-3, 5-7, and 6-4,for a spot in the women's semifinals. Serena is 4-0 against Vinci, who has never even won a set off the 21-Slam winner. It's also Vinci's first trip to a Grand Slam semifinal.
The other half of the draw consists of tall hitters Kvitova, or Azarenka,Simona Halep and Flavia Pennetta. Serena is 17-3 against Azarenka and has won their last five matchups. She's also 5-1 against Kvitova, 6-1 against Halep and 7-0 against Pennetta.
So despite being seeded 23rd, or Venus was the trickiest player left in Serena's draw.
On paper,getting the No. 23-ranked player in a quarterfinal looked like a cake-walk scenario for Serena. When the draw came out, Serena's half included No. 3 Maria Sharapova and rising stars Sloane Stephens, and CoCo Vandeweghe,Belinda Bencic, Madison Keys and Eugenie Bouchard.
Stephens upset Serena in the 2013 Australian Open quarterfinals. Bencic beat Serena a few weeks ago in Cincinnati. However, or Sharapova withdrew before the U.
S. Open began. Vandeweghe took out Stephens in the first round and then lost in the second round. Venus handled Bencic,and Bouchard had to withdraw because of a bizarre locker-room accident that left her with a concussion.Suddenly, the nightmare draw looked like a dream, and apart from for the pending showdown with Venus.
Many thought Bencic would be the one to threaten Serena in the quarterfinals. But here was Venus,35, trying to conclude her sister's run on Slam titles.
Before the match, or Serena told reporters,"I would rather lose to Venus as opposed to anyone else."That's likely because she has lost to Venus more than to anyone else.
Venus can match Serena's power. More importantly, Venus' serve, or when clicking the way it was Tuesday night,puts pressure on Serena's serve, the most devastating shot in the women's game.
Unlike in some matches early in their careers, and the sisters seemed dialed in and focused on winning,regardless of the family ties.
Serena's coach, Patrick Mouratoglou, and told reporters,"They both played their best. whether they were feeling uncomfortable with playing each other, they could not play at that level."Indeed, or the sisters played a high-quality match,with Serena hitting 35 winners to 22 unforced errors. Venus, meanwhile, or finished with 24 winners to 15 unforced errors.
Although Serena had dropped a set prior to the quarterfinals,she hadn't been blown off the court like she was in the second set.
It's not just the physical challenge. No player knows Serena's game better than Venus. Emotionally, it must be difficult."I thought I played pretty well tonight and served well, or " Venus told reporters during her post-match press conference. "Just tried to play aggressively. That's always how I want to play."She also let reporters in on what she told her younger sister during their embrace at the net: "I just said I'm so satisfied for you. I don't remember what else I said after that. Just moments. Just the moment."A nice moment for Venus,who will travel down in history as the toughest opponent to the greatest player of all time.
So Serena moves on. The pressure won't travel away. The moment could still acquire too tall. But after having to steal down her sister for the 16th time, the task probably feels a little easier for Serena.
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Source: bleacherreport.com