Serena Williams desperate: Number 24 remains a dream
Serena Williams fails again while trying to win her 24th Grand Slam title. Instead of the American, Viktoria Azarenka is in the final of the US Open against Naomi Osaka.
by SID
last edit: Sep 11, 2020, 08:19 pm
Serena Williams knew it was over, yet she tried almost desperately to turn fate around. Viktoria Azarenka had chased a serve over the net unreachable on her first match point, the American demanded a review to avert the inevitable. Vain. When Williams saw on the video board shortly afterwards that the ball had still scratched the line, she only tilted her head to one side. Her eyes were blank.
6: 1, 3: 6, 3: 6. It was a defeat that after the first set hardly seemed possible, Williams played so well, Azarenka so badly. But then. "Maybe I took my foot off the gas too much," said Williams (38), but also emphasized: "I did what I could." But whatever she did, it wasn't enough. Azarenka (31) seized the match, she played bravely and yet almost flawlessly and finally rushed her opponent off the field with only the fifth win in the 23rd duel.
Williams at a loss
"Disappointing," said Williams, unsurprisingly, was this defeat. But it is probably more than that. At the Australian Open 2017 Williams had won the title in one of the four Grand Slams for the 23rd time. Now her ninth attempt to get title number 24 has failed and thus set the record of the Australian Margaret Court. Does she really want to keep playing until she hits the record? "I ... I don't know," said Williams, "I haven't thought about it yet."
Such questions do not arise for Azarenka and her final opponent Naomi Osaka. The two former world number one will fight for their third title in a Grand Slam on Saturday (10 p.m. CEST / Eurosport). Osaka won in New York in 2018 and at the Australian Open in 2019 and, after a slack, feels ready for the next big hit. "I would say that I am mentally stronger. I have learned a lot from my ups and downs," emphasized the 22-year-old.
Azarenka, of course, went through much more. She was number one for the first time eight years ago, in 2012 and 2013 she won the Australian Open and was also in the final of the US Open. This was followed by injuries and form crises, and after the birth of her son in 2016, she got into a custody dispute with the child's father. The mixed Olympic champion from 2012 could not leave California, where she lived, until mid-2018.
Williams fix at the French Open
It was seven years before Azarenka reached the final of a Grand Slam again, and "it feels more fulfilling than it did then," she assured after beating Williams. Back then, at the height of her career, that was more or less expected of her, "that was certainly not the case this year". However, she won the dress rehearsal for the US Open in New York after her opponent in the final canceled her injuries. The final opponent would have been Osaka.
Williams has meanwhile announced that he will "definitely" take part in the French Open (from September 27th) - provided that the left Achilles tendon, which had to be treated at the beginning of the third set, is not worse damaged. Whether it comes closer to Roland Garro's title number 24 on the red ashes of all things, however, is doubtful.