20 and counting! Serena challenged by Safarova in Roland Garros final, but not enough

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Wilson Blade 9

Serena Williams - Mutua Madrid Open 2015 -DSC_7991Serena Williams is so dominant that no player can come close to her, especially in Grand Slam finals. In Saturday’s championship match of Roland Garros, first it seemed that Lucie Safarova would have absolutely no chance, but the Czech stirred our emotions in the second set, showed her heart and gut and saved herself from the brink of defeat as not many players could with Serena on the other side of the net. Despite that resurrection and an initial lead in the decider, it was Serena who celebrated her 20th Grand Slam title and exposed her French language skills in the winner’s interview.

The world No.1 straightforwardly won the first set, by earning a break for a 3-1 lead and never looking back. Can you imagine that an average rally had less than 3 shots?! And on Safarova’s serve, from the moment her racquet touched the ball, Serena needed just about 2.2 seconds to finish the point. I mean… is there anything else I should say about how dominant Serena was.

However, even though it seemed that Serena would bury Safarova alive, Safarova rallied from 1-4 to 5-4 in the second set, then again from another break down at 5-6 to 6-6, and followed with dominance in the tiebreak. How amazing this turnaround was! Safarova turned a boring yet-another-Serena-victory final into a major fight and hope for her fans. The Czech even continued the momentum into the third set, breaking Serena’s serve right away and holding at love for 2-0. But that’s when Serena started rolling again, forgot about her human self, summoned her superwoman powers and grabbed the Coupe Suzanne Lenglen. Final score: 6-3 6-7(2) 6-2.

By virtue of her outstanding run at the French Open, Safarova will reach a new career-high ranking of No.7, while Serena will further consolidate her No.1 position, distancing herself from the second-ranked player by over two Grand Slams’ worth of points.

Serena is just the third player in history, male or female, who has won 20 Grand Slam titles. The American is in the category of her own, there’s absolutely no match, and my biggest nightmare as a tennis blogger would be to list all Serena’s career milestones, since I would need to spend my whole summer doing just that! LEGEND! 

Respect for Lucie! She made this an amazing final. And should I mention that she’s also made the final in doubles? WOW! Good luck in that one! (photo: Jimmie48)

11 COMMENTS

  1. I don’t care how many titles she’s won and/or how long she’s been #1, a TRUE champion, a TRUE world No.1 and a TRUE role model NEVER behaves the way Serena Williams behaved (and still does) on and off the court throughout her career!

    A REAL champion/world No.1/role model is humble, respectful, has class and has sportsmanship (and Serena doesn’t)!

  2. Congrats to the Queen of the court Serena. She chocked in the second set but got in together in the 3rd. She is full of class, beautiful and an inspiring role model to all. So much evil haters want to see you fail but what God has in-store for you no man can touch.

  3. I want to Congratulate the true champion Serena Williams, on her 20th Grand Slam win. You go girl!

  4. I remember in January 2005 when Serena won the Australian Open for her 7th title and did not win another Grand Slam until January 2007’s Australian Open for title number 8. It seemed critics were correct about her at this time; distracted by off court interests and general lack of interest in the sport. It seems Serena has always had to answer to these critics time and time again. I cannot think of a more impactful way to silence these folks than by winning 20 Grand Slams. It is such a privilege to have such a legend on the tour. And regardless of anyone’s personal sentiments regarding Serena, she is quite simply the best.

  5. Serena played incredibly well in 1st set and early part of 2nd set. Then Safarova brings those nothing-to-lose attitude and shocks Serena a bit. Luckily she managed to get the composure back in the 3rd set.

    What a great champion, Serena and what a great spirit from Safarova. Obviously more to coming from these two players in future. Good luck!!:)

  6. Serena is a true champion! The bigots can hate but she keeps on winning and they just look ridiculous with their bitching and whining.
    Lucy is finally living up to her potential. I hope she has more opportunities to get a slam. She has always had the ability now hopefully she has the belief.

  7. Yep! Serena turned things around, as usual. How can anyone expect anything less from this tennis champion? This is the way she always handles business on the court. Just another day on the tennis court for my girl. She’s 33-years-old and very ill, yet she can still bring home the prize. What a gutsy, tenacious woman! Without a doubt, she’ll surpass Margaret Court’s 24 grand slam titles. Serena’s stronger than ever, as agile and flexible as she needs to be, and that serve…oh, my! There’s no stopping her now and certainly no catching up to what she’s accomplished by the other players. Regarding that second set loss, she caused that loss and beat herself on that one. Being the genius that she is in the game, there’s no way possible for her to have gone from 4-1, to game point, to lose that set. That I didn’t understand for the life of me! With the way she was playing, she should have been off that court in less than an hour. Nevertheless, this article was great and very fair. It’s actually the best I’ve read concerning Serena’s win today. “Congrats, Serena! I’m glad I didn’t hear the profanity I’ve read you used, however. Please refrain from doing that, because you don’t win points by cursing; you win points because you’re the best in the game. Always carry yourself with true class. Don’t ever give your haters anything more to hate you for (hating you for all the wrong reasons, by the way). Go, Serena, go!”

  8. Oh, by the way, I found out that the recent National Spelling Bee co-champion, Vanya Shivashinkar, said she admires and likes Serena Williams, which I never heard any of the commentators mention. This young lady stating publicly that she admires Serena is even more reason why Serena must be careful to protect her on/off court image. Many are watching and desire to find fault where there is none. However, when you yell obscenities during a match and think that doesn’t matter, you deserve to be put on blast for it. That kind of behavior is never acceptable and shall remain classless. “I love you, Serena, but please, please, please lead by example. Be positive in every sense of the word “positive.” So many people are watching you; some who are young and impressionable. Being lady-like still counts in life. Again, congrats on your win!”

  9. Serena for me is the GOAT of Women’s Tennis. I know she can still surpass Steffi Graf. Kudos to Lucie! She still has doubles final later. Reaching both singles and doubles final is amazing! She’s very hardworking and patient. Back to Serena, I think Nike will regret not making her a good dress in Paris. Should make up in Wimbledon and US Open.

  10. Agreed, Sabey, Brian, and Jade! Congrats to Lucie and Bethanie on their doubles championship!

    Everyone, please read Rolling Stones’ article on Serena’s win at the 2015 French Open. An honest, fair, great read indeed; the best I’ve read since Marija’s. I wonder why Serena’s win did not make headline news like it should have. And then again, I do. MSN displayed Warinka’s win against Novak as headline news. Very interesting and shameful, indeed!

  11. The Real Deal, I’m glad you like my report about the final and I’m especially pleased to hear that you consider it to be among the best out there.

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