SERENA DISMISSES AZARENKA TO ENTER FINAL
WIMBLEDON – When Victoria Azarenka emerged from the locker room for her Centre Court match against Serena Williams, she wore her trademark white hoodie. So, (if we are allowed to say such things,) the Wimbledon semi came down to the girl in the white hoodie vs. the 30-year from the ‘hood.
On paper Williams was the clear favorite. Never mind that Azarenka probably will become No. 1 in the world Monday. Never mind that the Belarusian grunter – en route to winning the Sydney, Aussie Open, Doha and Indian Wells titles – put together a 26-match winning streak. And never mind that, according to BBC, she has gained a certain calm. “She was known as a real volcano,” they said. “And we are not sure if she is really dormant, but of late we haven’t seen much lava.”
But we have seen plenty of ferocity. The No. 2 seed dismissed former No. 1 Ana Ivanovic 6-1, 6-0 in the fourth round and cut through her first five foes without losing a set. With her athleticism, backhand and impressive resume, Azarenka was hardly some overreaching wannabe, hoping for 15-minutes of Wimbledon fame.
Plus, we never are quite sure which Serena will show up. Williams hadn’t won a Slam in two years. She was supposed to mop up Aussie Sam Stosur in the U.S. Open final. But she fell with a thud. And her shaky, teary and humiliating loss to France’s Virginie Razzano in the first round at Roland Garros was a setback that stung. It rocked her confidence.
Coming into Wimbledon, which she adores, Serena looked terrible. Sluggish and laden, she moved with modest grace and less speed. In the third round she did uncork a record a record 23 aces against Jie Zheng. Nonetheless, she struggled mightily just to prevail against the Chinese baseliner and, in the quarters, against No. 65 Yaroslava Shevedova.
Still she talked the talk, saying,“No one knocks down Serena Williams” and “I’m always confident, I’m Serena Williams.” Like Ali or Jimmy Connors, Ms. Serena can deliver sassy sound bytes.
But could she deliver on court?
In the quarters (in a revenge match against Wimbledon’s defending champ Petra Kvitova, who had send her packing last year) Serena was reborn. Buoyed by pep talks from her sister Venus, her Papa Richard and USTA player development chief Pat McEnroe, she came out with conviction and moved adeptly to dismiss her Czech foe.
Carrying the flag for tennis elders, she hoped to become the first thirty-something to win a Grand Slam since someone named Navratilova did it in 1990.
Certainly, Serena would be favored. She had a 7-1 record over Vika. She had destroyed her in both the second round at the U.S. Open and in the Madrid final this Spring.
The odds for an upset were small. Azarenka would have to either hope Serena imploded or that she could somehow overcome the best arsenal in the woman’s game – the finest first serve in tennis history with its beautiful motion, fabulous placement and singular power; her great second serve; a punishing lean-in return of serve; a painful backhand and not so shabby forehand; good wheels for an “old lady” who has endured serious knee and foot surgeries; and that (minted just for Serena) mental toughness and “come on!” fighting spirit.
Surprisingly, in the eighth game of the opening set, a brilliantly athletic retrieval propelled Serena to her 6-3 first set win and the Californian broke again in the second set. Azarenka, BBC said, “has been hanging on by her well-manicured fingernails, but the cliff is now crumbling.”
But not so fast. Vika – like some overmatched slugger fighting for pride – hung in there, fought back and eventually blasted a Serena second serve deep to her foe’s backhand to save a break point in the sixth game. She managed to save three break points, scored a brave hold and eventually forced a second-set tiebreak. But two perplexing errors – a simple forehand and a backhand, both which were dumped into the net – sealed Vika’s hardly surprising fate. And when Serena blasted her record 24th ace, she secured her 6-3 7-6 (6) win, which meant she would be seeking her 14th Slam and her fifth Wimbledon title in just her 7th AELTC final. Ironically, if Serena beats Agnieszka Radwanska on Saturday and lifts the trophy, Azarenka will rise to No. 1.
But we all know about statistics. As Mark Twain told us, “There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies and statistics.”
So, unless there is a sudden change in the temperature, the talented imposing lady from the ‘hood is the best player in this world.
RADWANSKA: A POLE RISES IN THE POLLS
She doesn’t have a big name. After all in a world of big brands – Serena, Venus, Maria – Agnieszka (as in Radwanska) doesn’t exactly roll off one’s tongue. She does have a high ranking (No. 3), but as for name recognition, forget it.
She doesn’t come from a big tennis nation. Sure Dane Caroline Wozniacki is of Polish heritage. But the last time a Pole reached a Slam final was in 1937. (And that was a year before a British man won Wimbledon.)
Radwanska doesn’t have power groundies, a big weapon or a finishing shot like Sharapova’s or Azarenka’s backhand. She doesn’t have a big serve like Serena. Rather, Agnieszka relies on savvy, slice and point construction – very old school. She does talk fast, just like Monica Seles. But get this, unlike Monica she doesn’t grunt. The Pole has court smarts suggestive of Martina Hingis. But unlike the Swiss Miss, who collected five Slams, Radwanska hasn’t exactly lit up the scoreboard. She had lost in five Slam quarterfinals – ouch. Her appearance on Centre Court today was her first Slam semi, such a nice bridesmaid.
Still, she has a lot going for her. Good smarts, subtle hands, fleet feet, a laser consistency and (at least this year’s at Wimbledon) that most valuable commodity – luck. En route to the quarterfinals, her foes (Magdalena Rybarikova, Camila Giorgi et al) averaged a not-so mighty ranking of 112. In the quarterfinals she struggled against the 19th -ranked Russian Maria Kirilenko. Though two points from losing, she prevailed 7-5, 4-6, 7-5. In the semis she might have been facing another Russian named Maria. But Sharapova had been ousted by Sabine Lisicki in the fourth round. So Radwanska would face the fast-rising German Angelique Kerber in the semis. And indeed Gerber charged out of the gate, scoring an early break to go up 2-1. The German’s early glory proved to be her last. A splendid running forehand drop shot by the Pole propelled her past the surprisingly tentative Kerber, who seemed to have left her best play behind in the quarterfinals. Her best moments came off of moonballs, and when her backhand floated wide Radwanska had her 6-3, 6-4 victory. But like her game, Radwanska’s celebration was understated. She had fulfilled her childhood dream to reach a Slam final. In her native Poland – along with ski jumpers and soccer players – she was now a celebrated hero.
Still, in Philly or Frankfurt – despite her adept game, which is so easy on the eye – she is as yet a brand. But stay tuned if this talented all-courter somehow scores a monster upset and beats Serena in Saturday’s final and then goes on to win a medal in the Olympics and makes it in New York at the U.S. Open, she will be one Pole who will certainly rise in the polls.
QUOTEBOOK
“My purpose is to learn until my last breath.” – Jo-Willie Tsonga
“Tim Henman was the son-in-law mothers dream of. Murray’s image is more akin to the boyfriend fathers have nightmares about.” – Glenn Moore
“We’ve had three of the most dramatic nights in tennis history.” – Sue Barker
“I’m so happy I will have a second chance.” – Jo Willie Tsonga, who is again into the Wimbledon semifinals.
“Getting used to losing is not a good thing.” – Mats Wilander
“You have to have an ego to be a good tennis player.” – Radio Wimbledon
“At Centre Court if someone shouts out something innocuous, everyone laughs. If you are an insecure stand-up comedian, I always say the best place to go to is Centre Court, because everyone will laugh at anything.” – Radio Wimbledon
“The skill, the rat-ta-tat of the volleying was quite fantastic.” – Mary Rhodes on doubles play at Wimbledon
“I don’t know how my ego would cope as a tennis player: hearing thousands of people clapping and cheering every time I make a mistake at work.” – Comedian Adam Hess
“Hit and don’t think.” – Perry Jones
“There are going to be some sunny spells in amidst the showers.” – A London weather report
HEADLINES
ADIDAS GIVES MURRAY NEW CONTRACT AFTER BALLS POP OUT
CENTRE COURT WILL NOT WARM TO SERENA
KATE, SET AND MATCH
IT’S A GRIND OF MAGIC IN ANDY SHOW
FED UP AND EVEN AGASSI CAN’T HELP
WIMBLEDON STOPS CLINGING TO ITS TOWELS
NUMBERS
10 – Number of Slam semis Andy Murray has reached.
7 – Number of times Serena usually bounces the ball before serving.
3 – Number of men in the last eight who are in their 30s
24 – Record number of aces Serena hit against Victoria Azarenka
FEDERER – THE NEXT GENERATION: Amidst all the Royalty Wednesday, Federer’s two children, Charlene Riva and Myla Rose, came to Wimbledon.
COURT REPORTS: Ivan Lendl said the condition of Wimbledon’s practice courts is now better than the actual courts he played on in his day. Todd Martin contended that, “In some ways the courts are in too good condition …. agronomy has made too much progress.”
TENNIS IN THE GARDEN: Jo-Willie Tsonga said when he first played on English grass courts he felt like “I was playing in my garden.”
GO FIGURE: One third of the men’s field was over 30.
ALMOND BROTHER: John McEnroe’s hair color was described as both almond and tumeric … Brian Baker, with his jet black follicles, may have the darkest hair in men’s tennis.
BIG ABBEY, LITTLE ABBEY: Here in England, the biggest of weddings are held at Westminster Abbey. So not surprisingly, Maria Sharapova, who is engaged to the former NBA player Sasha Vujacic, was asked about where the wedding would be held. She replied, “Obviously, I don’t think I’m going to be getting married in an abbey. It’s going to be a lot smaller, and I put the emphasis on a ‘a lot.’”
