Serena didn’t serve 89 aces en route to her victory here last year.
I still thought it was one heck of a performance. Better, qualitatively speaking, than this year in fact.
Getty
This time round, Serena had herself been insisting she’d not hit top gear as late as the semis – an assertion I was taking about as seriously as one of Fed’s Hawkeye challenges.
Perhaps she hit top gear on court opposite Vera today, who didn’t get a look in after getting broken at the business end of the first set.
Perhaps she didn’t need to.
Perhaps, and here’s a scary thought, perhaps she overcame a field that included Masha, Henin and Clijsters -- players whose return was, you know, meant to shake things up a little – without having to play her best tennis.
Or even as good as last year for that matter.
Either way, the difference in class between her and the rest of the competition is now all the more pronounced.
89 aces. 13 GS Titles. One more than BJK.
DoeHood. It’s time to start the debate.
***
Commiserations Bepa, who hasn’t had a half bad event.
She’s one of very few complete players we have out there. And when injuries, or towel-wrapped hot-headedness aren’t getting in the way, she can be a real pleasure to watch, in a watered-down-Kuzzie kinda way.
AFP/Getty
Dig out highlights of her match against Flavlova at last years USO if you’re still not convinced.
She’s to be applauded for her disciplined return from injury after winning IW last year (a win that saw her reach #5 in the world), she’s to be applauded for her very classy runners-up speech today and she’s to be applauded for keeping her infamous emotions in check…..almost.
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