STANFORD, CALIF. — She’s back. No two ways about it. A
nd to think it only took 11 matches. Playing just her third tournament since her return from an injury layoff bookended by a pair of foot surgeries and hospitalization following a hematoma/pulmonary embolism, Serena Williams stepped back into the winner’s circle on Sunday, defeating Marion Bartoli 7-5, 6-1 in the Bank of the West Classic final. It marked her first title on home soil in nearly three years, the last coming at the 2008 U.S. Open.
For Williams, ranked an uncharacteristic No. 169, the win served as revenge for her Round of 16 loss to Bartoli at Wimbledon, the Frenchwoman’s sole win in four career head-to-heads.
“It means a lot,” said Williams, whose winners-to-unforced errors ratio was 25-18. “I came here just expecting to do well. I was so disappointed after Wimbledon. But I didn’t come here thinking I would win the title.”
Bartoli, who was appearing in her third Stanford final, sprinted out to a 4-2 first-set advantage, armed with go-for-broke first and second serves and solid groundstrokes. Many of her points were punctuated by self-motivating cries of “Allez!” and obligatory fist-pumps. But she later told reporters that it was about then that she began to feel some discomfort in her right hand and could no longer grip the racket pain-free. Returning one of her opponent’s powerful serves, the 26-year-old felt “a shock in the bones.”
“When the doctor came on court, she said I bruised the bones in my hand,” she explained. “But there’s nothing to take away from Serena’s performance. She played really well.”
Williams was solid throughout. She blasted three aces to hold in the fifth game of the first set and broke even at 4-4 when Bartoli registered one of her eight double faults on the afternoon. Williams subsequently gave the break right back, but went on to score another herself to take the set.
Williams came out strong in the second set, holding at love with a 106 mph ace and breaking Bartoli at love to go up 2-0. It total, she gave up just four points on her serve in the second set, finishing with 11 aces and a first-serve percentage of 75. No matter the ups and downs, it seems the former No. 1 can always count on her serve.
“Even if I’m serving bad, I just keep on hitting it,” said Williams, who collected her 38th career singles title. “I’m just like, ‘It’s gonna come, it’s gonna come, it’s gonna come.’ And it does. It comes around. I never lose hope in it.”
When Patrick McEnroe asked her if she was now the prohibitive U.S. Open favorite, Williams coyly shot back, “I’m YOUR favorite.” But all kidding aside, the resurgent 29-year-old will be in that top-tier group of contenders. The question will be, with so much time away from the court, can she maintain that level through seven matches over two weeks. As far as she’s concerned, she has the legs for it.
“I feel like I have the legs of a 20-year-old,” she said.
A day earlier, semifinals victim Sabine Lisicki, herself a recent returnee, had pondered, “I don’t know when a comeback ends.” Wouldn’t Slam No. 14 in Flushing Meadows be a dream locale for Serena to officially end hers? Her father, Richard Williams, is famous not only for producing two elite champions, but also for his spot-on prediction that they would someday rise to Nos. 1-2 in the rankings. But even Serena admits that he couldn’t, in his wildest dreams, imagine 20, or perhaps 21, singles Slams between them.
“I never thought of it either,” she confessed. “I just thought of winning. It’s like a drug, winning. Once you get it, you never want to stop.”
Williams became the lowest ranked player to win a WTA Tour title in 2011. She is projected to climb back into the top 80 with the win.
