Serena Williams beat her sister for the sixth time in a row. She beat Jennifer Capriati for the eighth time in a row. And she won Wimbledon for the second year in a row.
Williams enjoyed another fulfilling fortnight at the All England Club, and on Tuesday she’ll observe the one-year anniversary in her reign atop the rankings. As the tennis season heads for the hardcourts, Williams can hardly gripe about her game.
Except …
”I should have won the French,” she said.
Well, yes, perhaps. Williams lost to Justine Henin-Hardenne a month ago in the semifinals of the French Open, an upset avenged in the Wimbledon semifinals. Then Williams beat her ailing sister Venus in the final on Saturday.
But for Serena, a second successive Wimbledon title makes the defeat in Paris even more glaring and galling. It’s the only loss in her past six Grand Slam events, and she’s 40-1 at major tournaments dating back to the 2001 French Open.
If not for the traumatic stumble in June on the Roland Garros clay, Williams might be closing in on a calendar Grand Slam, something last achieved by Steffi Graf in 1988.
Instead, she’ll try to make it three out of four in 2003 at the US Open beginning on August 25. And for the moment, she’ll take satisfaction in winning her sixth Grand Slam title.
”I think I’ll be able to leave a mark with what I’ve done in my career already, and I’m only 21,” she said. ”Hopefully there are a few slams, several slams, left in me.”
As the defending US Open champion, she’ll be a big favorite in New York, and everywhere else for the foreseeable future.
Does Venus have slams left in her? That was a question she hoped to answer at Wimbledon, but she strained her groin and aggravated a recurring abdominal injury in the semifinals, then winced and grimaced through a three-set final.
Venus is expected to be sidelined for between two to four weeks. That would force her to miss the US Fed Cup team’s matches against Italy in Washington on July 19-20, and leave her behind in preparation for the US Open.
”It’s discouraging that I’m going to have to take weeks off and kind of start from scratch again with fitness,” she said.
Injuries have been a frequent problem for Venus, and they’re one reason she has gone nearly two years without a major championship since winning her fourth one at the 2001 US Open. Another reason for the title drought: her younger sister.
They’ve played in five of the past six Grand Slam finals, and Serena won every time.
”It would be wrong for me to sit here and say, ‘Oh, no, she’ll never beat me again,”’ Serena said. ”I wouldn’t say that about anyone, especially someone with her calibre and her fight and her spirit.”
Venus showed plenty of spunk by playing in pain through her final two matches at Wimbledon, but her interest in fashion design and interior decorating has led some to question her devotion to tennis.
There are no doubts about Serena’s commitment and motivation.
With her No. 1 ranking threatened last week by Kim Clijsters, Serena came from behind to beat Capriati. Then, still stinging from the loss in Paris, she played with breathtaking ferocity to beat Henin-Hardenne.
And in the final, she put aside sympathy for her sister after losing the first set. Serena sheepishly acknowledged that she exploited Venus’ sore stomach a couple of times by trying to hit lobs over her.
”Twenty years from now,” Serena said, ”I don’t want to look back and say, ‘You know what, I really should have fought harder.”’ – Sapa-AP