STANFORD, CALIF. – Seeing No. 169 next to your name can understandably be a bit awkward for a 13-time Grand Slam titlist who’s spent 123 weeks at No. 1.
“It’s kind of funny to me,” laughed Serena Williams, who all but fell off the charts after almost a year away from the court due to a pair of foot surgeries and a pulmonary embolism. “I just have to keep going. It’s kind of fun. I feel like I’m a kid again and have goals. I remember when I first came out my goal was to be in the top 100, then to get in a Grand Slam without needing a wildcard. I have those goals again.”
Playing just her third tournament since Wimbledon 2010, Williams moved into the Bank of the West Classic final on Friday night at the Taube Tennis Center with a convincing 6-1, 6-2 domination of Germany’s Sabine Lisicki in only 59 minutes.
In a heavyweight matchup of two of the biggest servers the women's game has ever seen, neither player served particularly well, Williams landing 61 percent of her first serves; Lisicki just 54 percent. But while the 21-year-old German failed to convert any of her six break-point chances, the American made good on four of six opportunities and dictated play throughout.
“We put too much pressure on ourselves at both being able to serve some of the biggest in women’s tennis,” said Williams, who managed only three aces. “Our serves — at least mine — didn’t show up today.”
“I was just tight,” echoed Lisicki, who had never faced Williams before. “She’s a champion. She has so much more experience than me. It’s a learning experience for me.”
The resurgent Lisicki, a surprise Wimbledon semifinalist who has risen nearly 200 spots in the rankings to No. 26 since March, double faulted breaks away trailing 1-0 and 4-1 in the first set. With her 29-year-old opponent serving ahead 5-1, 40-30, Lisicki flailed on a forehand approach to surrender the never-in-doubt stanza.
Lisicki was broken at love to open the second set and soon found herself behind 4-0 before she finally managed to put some pressure on her opponent’s serve. But it was too little too late, and Williams was just too solid.
“She's playing with controlled aggression out there,” observed ESPN's Mary Joe Fernandez.
“There are still shots that I’m not going for, that I’m not making, that I know I can make,” said Serena. “I know that once I get more confident and get more match play, I will be able to make those. That’s also encouraging to me. ‘Okay, I can do more. I can do better.’”
“I’ve never played such a strong player like her before,” said Lisicki, who finished with 22 unforced errors. “I’m hitting the ball pretty hard, and I’m not used to the ball coming back that hard. That was something new for me. She’s a different player from anyone I’ve played before.”
In Sunday’s noontime final, Williams will face France's Marion Bartoli, the same woman who knocked her out of Wimbledon earlier this month in the Round of 16. Ranked a career-high No. 9, Bartoli advanced in a walkover when Slovakia’s Dominika Cibulkova withdrew with an abdominal strain.
“I haven’t won a tour tournament in forever [2009 WTA Championships],” said Williams, who, incredibly, hasn’t captured a title on U.S. soil since the 2008 U.S. Open. It was a long time ago.”
Who knows. That wait may soon be over.
