![]() She was stepping in on the return and hitting clean winners. For a set, Williams was blasting Azarenka off the court with power and precision. After 23 Grand Slam titles - the most in the Open Era - it’s time to go for broke and let the chips fall where they may. That’s the way she has to play against a top-level opponent if she’s going to win another Grand Slam. Given everything Williams has accomplished and the plain reality that she isn’t physically what she used to be - Who is after more than 20 years playing professional tennis? - that is the blueprint. There was nothing nervous or tight about the way Williams was playing. She was hitting the ball so hard, it looked like she was practically throwing her body into every ground stroke. Unlike her earlier performances, Williams came out determined to start fast and play aggressively. That’s what made Thursday’s first set so breathtaking. Open and the two tournaments that preceded it, that her level of play was not particularly high. Her three-set quarterfinal against Tsvetana Pironkova was anything but straightforward. ![]() She survived being down a break in the third set against Maria Sakkari in the fourth round. She’d come from a set down in the third round to beat Sloane Stephens. This time, just getting to the semifinals had been a real labor. For some reason, Serena has often played in these big matches over the last few years as if she had something to lose.ĪNALYSIS: Why Serena just missed her last, best chance at No. The advantage of being considered the greatest player of all time is that you don’t really need to win anymore. With each opportunity that passes by, the window closes that much more.īut the odd thing about watching Williams try and fail to get one more is how often it seems like she walked on the court as if she felt the pressure of trying to win her first. At age 38, the reason she’s out there is to add Grand Slams to her legacy, including winning one as a mother. ![]() Maybe that’s not much of a consolation for Williams. At every big moment, she grunted and screamed and pumped herself up. She didn’t just hit groundstrokes, she walloped them. It wasn’t about playing passively as she did in the Wimbledon final last year or losing rhythm on her serve as she did last year at the U.S. But at least she went for it.įor once in the post-motherhood portion of her career, this wasn’t Williams getting tight in a big match and spraying errors all over the court as she has in recent Grand Slam finals. In an extraordinary semifinal that looked for awhile as if it would be hers, Williams lost to Vika Azarenka, 1-6, 6-3, 6-3. No, Williams will not win her coveted Grand Slam title No. By this point in Serena Williams’ career, where every match she plays should be considered gravy, that’s really all you can ask. The news means Serena won't be playing the French Open at Roland Garros in Paris next month.At least she went for it. I needed Andy to dress me, carry me, and delicately place me on the toilet when I was 4 weeks pregnant. We are so happy, and we know will be a great mother Open winner Andy Roddick and his wife, Brooklyn Decker, had to say: Here’s former top-ranked Caroline Wozniacki, one of Serena’s best friend on the Tour:Īnd here’s what Serena’s old friend and former U.S. Serena Williams announces pregnancy on Maria Sharapova's birthday and will return to world number one on Monday.Īfter hours of frenzied speculation, Serena’s pregnancy was confirmed by her Los Angeles-based spokeswoman Kelly Bush Novak, who told the AP and Reuters the American was having a baby this fall and was planning on coming back to the women’s Tour in 2018. Here’s Portuguese tennis writer Jose Morgado: 1 Angelique Kerber won last year in Stuttgart will come off on Monday. 1 ranking next week because the points current No. Serena won AO while pregnant and Novak retired from a match with a sore throat.Īnd Novak thinks men should be paid more than women.Īlthough Williams hasn’t played a match since the Australian Open finals, she will regain the No. Idgaf who you think the greatest athlete ever is. Serena Williams won the Australian open pregnant. ![]() Did Serena Williams just reveal she is 20 weeks pregnant? įans quickly did the maths, and worked out Williams would have been in the early stages of pregnancy when she won her record-breaking 23rd grand slam title at the Australian Open without dropping a single set in January: ![]()
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