Serena Williams' pursuit of history is revered by her peers
NEW YORK – Does anyone in the women’s draw actually want to beat Serena Williams at this U.S. Open?
It was in Cincinnati less than two weeks ago that the world No. 2, Simona Halep – considered one of the few women in the field with the ability to beat the indomitable Williams – said this at the net as they shook hands after Williams' hard-fought win in the final: “Good luck at the U.S. Open. You can win.”
As Williams chases history going after the calendar Grand Slam at the U.S. Open, she’s also going for a 22nd major title. That win would tie Steffi Graf’s Open era record of 22 Grand Slams won, and also make Williams the first woman to win four majors in a single year since Graf did so back in 1988.
At 33 years old and no doubt the best of her generation (if not the best of all time), Williams has been breathing rarified air in women’s tennis for years now. She’s a player that commands the utmost respect on court. A match against her is, for many players, a pinch-me-is-this-happening experience.
“If I will not be in the finals, I want her to win,” Halep told reporters Saturday in a pre-tournament interview. Halep then added: “If I am in the finals with her, I want to win.
“I think she has enough power to do it,” Halep said of Williams. “She has a big chance to do it. I will not say that the tournament is open… Serena has the [best] chance.”
Tennis has always been a me-against-the-world sport. Over the past three years, it’s been Williams against the world, the American winning eight of 13 Grand Slams since linking up with French coach Patrick Mouratoglou in the summer of 2012.
Belief to beat Serena has wavered around the tour. Younger players ogle at her in the locker room, a legend still playing and still dominating. But it has never quite felt like this: Williams is trying to do something so rare in tennis that not even she has done it in her storied career. It’s not just her opponent she’s facing each round, it’s a battle with history.
Third-ranked Maria Sharapova hasn’t beaten Williams in more than 10 years, a 17-match losing streak that this year has included the Australian Open final and the Wimbledon semifinal. But the 2006 U.S. Open champ sees this event no different than any other: She wants to win it. And believes that the rest of the field wants to win, too.
“I haven’t really been in the locker room too much,” Sharapova said when asked about the chatter around Serena’s chances. “But I can say that everyone takes every match really seriously in a Grand Slam environment. This is a big event. It means a lot no matter if you’re ranked No. 1 or No. 100 in the world.”
Sam Stosur, the last player to beat Williams here when the Australian won their 2011 final encounter, thinks the field has no qualms about beating Serena.
“I think everyone would be happy to get in the way of that one,” Stosur told USA TODAY Sports. “It’s a remarkable thing she’s trying to go for. I think every other player in the draw would love to have that pressure on them, to go for a calendar Grand Slam.”
Williams, however, doesn’t see this U.S. Open as different. If she does, she’ll suffocate herself with said pressure and other-worldly expectations.
“I don't feel that fresh [Grand Slam] pressure,” Williams told reporters Thursday afternoon. “If I make it far [in the tournament], maybe I'll start to feel pressure. But as of now, I really don't feel any. I'm just here, like I said earlier, to perform and to do the best I can.”
Caroline Wozniacki, the world No. 4 and runner-up to Williams here a year ago, shrugs off the suggestion that there is less desire to beat the top seed at this event.
“I respect everything Serena has done in her career,” Wozniacki said Saturday. “What she’s about to do and what she’s done is amazing. I’m on the other half of the draw. Hopefully we can do a re-run of [the final] last year.”
Even the men are keeping a close eye on Serena’s run – and cheering for her to achieve it. “I hope she does it,” both Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer, the top two men’s seeds, said when asked about her Saturday.
“It’s impressive what she has managed to do so far” in 2015, Djokovic added. “In order to achieve [the Grand Slam] you have to be at your highest of abilities throughout the year, especially at the French Open and Wimbledon.”
It was at Wimbledon that Williams felt like she had a prep course for what she’s facing in New York: There she completed a second “Serena Slam,” or four majors won consecutively not in a calendar year.
“At Wimbledon I was going for the second Serena Slam,” Williams said Thursday. “That is rare. That really gave me the best practice and preparation in terms of going for the Grand Slam.”