‘Just Serena’: Williams’ upset win at US Open keeps the legend advancing in final days of her storied career
A week before the final at Roland Garros, Serena said there was “definitely” a chance she could be the first woman to win seven Grand Slam singles titles in the same year.
Serena has only won four in the past 18 months, with her loss to Serena Williams in the second round of this year’s Wimbledon final being her last on the road to No. 1. With her long-standing rival having a solid, if unspectacular, run at a Grand Slam, Serena, 35, could be in good physical and psychological shape — until it matters most in the final on Sunday.
“I’m sure Serena Williams is feeling pretty confident,” Serena said last weekend after beating Julia Goerges in Cincinnati, where she took a medical timeout midway through the fourth set before winning 6-1, 6-4. “I’m sure she was disappointed when she lost again to me. It’s been a very inconsistent month, but I’m still here and she’s still there. It’s not going to be that exciting until I win one of the titles coming up.”
Serena is 7-0 against Williams — the only two losses coming in 2018, when she was serving at 5-3 in the fifth set of their 2018 U.S. Open finals, and 7-1 in the 2015 U.S. Open final, where they were both playing in their first, and only, Grand Slam. The only other losses to Williams are all coming after a year-and-a-half hiatus from each other — each of Serena’s first eight title matches coming after she returned from injury.
Williams has only been around for a year, but the former No. 1 and top-ranked player has played and beat the best on the planet. She won her fourth title (and 11th all time) at Wimbledon in 2016, finishing with a 6-1
