TENNIS US OPEN:THE WILLIAMS sisters have always divided opinion both within and outside the tennis world, and continue to do so. To a large extent it no longer matters.
They have never been orthodox in their approach to the sport, and probably never will be, but between them they have now won 16 singles slam titles and changed the face of the women's game. Their place within tennis is absolutely secure and the chances are they have been right all along.
On Sunday evening the inevitable happened when Serena defeated Jelena Jankovic 6-4, 7-5 in the US Open. Well, at least the scoreline makes it look that way, though in fact it was one of the best women's slam finals here. The 23-year-old Serb, playing in her first major final, stretched Williams all the way. The American had saved 10 set-points against her older sister in the quarter-finals and needed to salvage another four against Jankovic.
"Watching her reminded me of a cross between a pit bull, a young Mike Tyson and an alligator," said her father, Richard. It was not an altogether flattering analogy but you took his point about her fighting spirit. "I think this title meant more to her than any she has won."
Serena was not in total agreement with her dad, though there was no doubting her absolute delight. She threw her racket high into the night skies after two hours and four minutes of pulsating tennis and jumped for joy, not once but many times.
"I'm sorry, I was so excited," she apologised to Jankovic, who is one of the most endearing players on the circuit and always ready to smile even in the context of this match when she was a point away from taking the opening set and sensed that Williams was tiring in the second.
So the Tiffany's silver cup, a cheque for €1 million and the return of the number one spot, five years after she last held it, all belonged to Serena. Small wonder her delight was unfettered.
This, her third US Open title, and ninth slam in total, placed her level with Monica Seles and Mo Connolly, though only halfway towards Chris Evert. It was Evert who took Serena to task a couple of years ago after her ranking dipped outside the top 100, a slump brought about by injury and what was perceived to be an overcommitment to off-court interests.
"I wonder," wrote Evert, "whether 20 years from now you might reflect on your career and regret not putting 100 per cent of yourself into tennis," while adding, "I don't see how acting and designing clothes (Serena has her company Aneres) can compare with the pride of being the best tennis player in the world."
These words were written more out of frustration than anything else and echoed the thoughts of many others involved in the game.
Then, at the beginning of last year, Serena won the Australian Open, ranked number 81, while Venus, also criticised for her off-court activities, won the Wimbledon title that she retained this July. The two collected the Olympic doubles gold in Beijing, then came Serena's victory here.
It was watched by Evert, who before the game began admitted: "It's opened my eyes not to be judgmental and to each his own. Whatever makes you happy. By having other interests maybe you won't get burned out so quickly."
This has been a year when Belgium's Justin Henin, the former number one, and multiple slam winner, decided to quit (though she is apparently practising again), while Maria Sharapova, another number one, has struggled with a long-term shoulder problem that forced her to miss this tournament.
The power game, which the Williamses took to a new level, is taking a heavy toll.
This win led some to suggest that Serena will now go on to overtake Billie Jean King's total of 12 slam victories and then push on towards Evert and Martina Navratilova. She is just short of her 27th birthday so has the time.
"I've been working so hard all year," she said. "It's just paying off. No one really knows the work that an athlete puts in. I felt like 'Gosh, I've been working the hardest, I should win'.
"It doesn't stop here. Like I said before, I feel like I have a new career, I feel so young and I feel so energised to play every week and to play every tournament. I feel like there's just so much that I can do in my career yet and I've never felt like I've played my best tennis."
The cynics will wonder, but for the moment there is no doubting that at their best the Williams sisters remain the world's outstanding players, while Jankovic showed clear signs that winning a slam is not beyond her.
The Serb picked out the positives after the defeat but also felt that a tiring Williams had taken too long between points in the second set. "I had a great two weeks," she said. "I felt she was tired and I really had my chances. I really was a little bit upset about the umpire. She (Williams) took quite a lot of time in between the points and I thought it was not fair. But she was the better one tonight."
Guardian Service
