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F2 N THE NEW YORK TIMES, MONDAY, AUGUST 31, 2015
SICKNESS AND SHARAPOVA CAN’T DENY A SIXTH AUSTRALIAN OPEN TITLE
‘Growing up, I wasn’t the richest. But I had a rich family in spirit and support, and standing here with 19 championships is something I never thought would happen.
I went on the courts with just a ball and a racket and a hope, and that’s all I had.’JAN. 31, after winning her sixth Australian Open title
Down UnderAnd RisingFour and a half months after winning the 2014 U.S. Open without losing a set, Serena Williams had a severe cold for much of the Australian Open and even threw up during the final. But she defeat-ed her longtime rival Maria Sharapova for the 16th consecutive time to end a four-year title drought in Australia.
TURNING POINTS
Williams was confronted with the future of tennis repeatedly, knocking out the rising stars Elina Svitolina, Garbiñe Muguruza and Madison Keys. In the fourth round against Muguruza, Wil-liams dropped the first set but avenged a loss in the second round of last year’s French Open.
THE JOURNEY
ROUND 1 Def. Alison Van Uytvanck6-0, 6-4
ROUND 2 Def. Vera Zvonareva7-5, 6-0
ROUND 3 Def. Elina Svitolina4-6, 6-2, 6-0
ROUND 4 Def. Garbiñe Muguruza2-6, 6-3, 6-2
QUARTERFINAL Def. Dominika Cibulkova6-2, 6-2
SEMIFINAL
Def. Madison Keys7-6 (5), 6-2
FINAL
Def. Maria Sharapova6-3, 7-6 (5)
SCRAPBOOK BY HOLLY BRAFORD;PHOTOGRAPH BY TONY CENICOLA/THE NEW YORK TIMES
U.S. OPEN PREVIEW A GRAND SLAM JOURNEYAUSTRALIAN OPEN TITLES
2003, 2005, 2007, 2009, 2010, 2015
OPEN PAGE
NEXT STOP: PARIS
The New York Times has followed Se-rena Williams’s career since 1990, whenshe was an 8-year-old in Compton, Calif.Here are excerpts from The Times’scoverage of some of her significant mo-ments at Grand Slam events.
Jan. 19, 1998Grand Slam tournament debut
On a Collision Course With a Best Friend
MELBOURNE, Australia — They arethe hottest novelty act in this tennis-crazed city, and the act heated up onschedule today at the Australian Open.
Serena Williams, 16, pulled off a ma-jor opening-day upset to set up a pos-sible second-round match with her 17-year-old sister, Venus. Playing on cen-ter court, Serena defeated sixth-seededIrina Spirlea of Romania, 6-7 (5), 6-3, 6-1.The Williamses’ sister act is gettingmore complicated than the elaborateweave of beads and braids in the identi-cal, inimitable hairdos that make ano-nymity a shared impossibility. While Ve-nus and Serena insist that sibling ri-valry is a foreign concept to them, on oroff the tennis court, their first visit toAustralia has put them on collision
courses in two tournaments. For onesister to survive, there was the possibil-ity she would have to eliminate the oth-er.
If it seems a little unnatural, well, it is.Venus and Serena are clearly each oth-er’s best friend. But because there is noroom for a best friend at the pinnacle ofthis profession, they have decided to beeach other’s best enemy, too.
That thought caused both of them, sit-ting on a sofa in a hotel lobby Sunday onthe eve of their Australian Open initia-tions, to shrug their beaded heads, pro-ducing a muted clatter like a rattle-snake’s warning note.
“I wouldn’t want to see Serena notsucceed; that would be selfish of me,”said Venus, who is ranked 16th. “I al-ways knew that Serena would be mymain nemesis one day.” ROBIN FINN
Sept. 11, 1999First Grand Slam singles title
The Realization Of a Childhood Dream
Using her racket like a stun gun topound and paralyze her savvy oppo-nent, the No. 1-ranked Martina Hingis,into submission Serena Williams, the 17-
year-old follow-up act to her big sisterphenom, Venus, captured the women’schampionship at the United StatesOpen in her first appearance in a GrandSlam final.
Williams’s breakthrough, coupledwith the advance of Andre Agassi andTodd Martin to the men’s final, guaran-teed the century’s final Open a patrioticdenouement, its first American-bornchampions since Jimmy Connors andChris Evert prevailed in 1982.
“Oh, my God, I won, oh my God,” thejubilant Williams mouthed, claspingboth hands to her thumping heart, afterHingis motored a double-handed back-hand out of bounds on Williams’s thirdmatch point. That sealed a 6-3, 7-6 (4)upset for the youngest of the five Wil-liams sisters, the one who calls herselfthe family extrovert.
“It’s really amazing; I was always theone who said, ‘I want to win the U.S.Open,’ and Venus, she always wantedWimbledon,” said Williams, who fieldeda congratulatory call from PresidentClinton and his daughter, Chelsea.
Her initial reaction to winning, Wil-liams said, was a big blur. “I thought,‘Should I scream, should I yell or shouldI cry?’ And I guess I ended up doingthem all.” ROBIN FINN
Jan. 25, 2003Completion of first Serena Slam
Four Major Titles in Row,And Even Sister Is Awed
MELBOURNE, Australia — Lessthan a year ago, after she had to with-draw from the Australian Open with asprained ankle, she was still trying tocatch up with her big sister. But in abreathtaking, fist-pumping, title-gobbling hurry, Serena Williams has be-come one of the greats.
She confirmed it today at Rod LaverArena, maintaining her edge over herolder sibling Venus by a much slimmermargin than usual to win this year’sAustralian Open, 7-6 (4), 3-6, 6-4, and be-come only the fifth woman to hold allfour Grand Slam singles titles at once.
“It’s really special to have come sucha long way,” she said.
It was not quite a true Grand Slam,which requires winning the AustralianOpen, the French Open, Wimbledon andthe United States Open in the same cal-endar year. That feat was achieved byMaureen Connolly in 1953, MargaretCourt in 1970 and Steffi Graf in 1988.
Instead, Serena has chosen to dub her
run the Serena Slam, an allusion to Ti-ger Woods’s similar achievement ingolf.
But whatever she or we choose to callit, there is no question that Serena’sachievement is one of the most remark-able of the past decade in women’ssports, all the more so considering thatthe depth and talent continue to in-crease in women’s tennis, along withthe physical demands.
“‘I never get choked up, never, butI’m really emotional right now and real-ly, really happy,” she said, beginning tocry. “I’d like to thank my mom and dadfor always supporting me.”
They are the first players in the 35-year Open era to have played in fourconsecutive major finals, and the 21-year-old Serena has won all four. To-day’s victory gave her a 6-5 career edgeover Venus in matches, as well as a ca-reer edge in Grand Slam titles. She nowhas five to Venus’s four.
“You have a great champion,” the 22-year-old Venus told the crowd in herpostmatch remarks. “Now she’s won allfour Grand Slams, which is something Iwould love to do someday. I’m trying tobe just like her.”
CHRISTOPHER CLAREY
FROM THE ARCHIVES
ILL, BUT AT EASE
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F2A N THE NEW YORK TIMES, MONDAY, AUGUST 31, 2015
U.S. OPEN PREVIEW A GRAND SLAM JOURNEYFRENCH OPEN TITLES
2002, 2013, 2015
NEXT STOP: LONDON
2,500 pts. behind
2,500 pts. ahead
20052000 2001 2002 2003 2006200419991998
Ranked No. 1
More Dominan
Wins the U.S. Open, her first major, at age 17.
Defeats her sister Venus in the finals of the French Open, Wimbledon and the U.S. Open.
Serena Williams has been the top-rankedbeen No.1 for the past 30 months. In July,
with more than twice the rankin
Completes her first “Serena Slam.”
Has surgery to repair a tear in her left knee.
Misses six months with a knee injury; has said she was coping with depression.
AAs
HEALTH PROBLEMS (AGAIN), BUT A 20TH GRAND SLAM SINGLES CROWN
GRIT ON CLAY
SCRAPBOOK BY HOLLY BRAFORD;PHOTOGRAPH BY TONY CENICOLA/THE NEW YORK TIMES
‘I think it’d be awesome. But at the end of the day, it’s pretty awesome tohave 20. Obviously, I would love to win a Grand Slam. I haven’t done great
at Wimbledon the past two years, so I’m going to take it a day at a time there.’JUNE 6, after winning her third French Open title, referring to a possible Grand Slam
Wobbling,But WinningSerena Williams dropped a set in five matches, including one to 105th-ranked Anna-Lena Friedsam. As in Australia, Wil-liams battled an illness in the late stages of the tourna-ment and spent most of the day before the final sick in bed. But she still emerged with her second title in Paris in three years.
TURNING POINTS
Against Timea Bacsin-szky in the semifinals, Williams was down by a set and a break at 2-3 in the second, then reeled off 10 straight games to win the match. Against Lucie Safarova in the final, Williams was down, 0-2, in the third set but won the last six games of the match.
THE JOURNEY
ROUND 1 Def. Andrea Hlavackova6-2, 6-3
ROUND 2 Def. Anna-Lena Friedsam5-7, 6-3, 6-3
ROUND 3 Def. Victoria Azarenka3-6, 6-4, 6-2
ROUND 4 Def. Sloane Stephens1-6, 7-5, 6-3
QUARTERFINAL Def. Sara Errani6-1, 6-3
SEMIFINAL
Def. Timea Bacsinszky4-6, 6-3, 6-0
FINAL
Def. Lucie Safarova6-3, 6-7 (2), 6-2
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N F2BTHE NEW YORK TIMES, MONDAY, AUGUST 31, 2015
WIMBLEDON TITLES
2002, 2003, 2009, 2010, 2012, 2015
201520102007 2008 2009 2011 2012 2013 2014
nt Than Everwoman in the world six times and has
, she became the first No.1 WTA player ng points of the No. 2 player.
Arrives unseeded at the Australian Open; wins. Says he intends to return to No. 1.
Wins the U.S. Open and returns to No.1.
Doctors find a blood clot in one of her lungs.
Cuts her foot on broken glass, days after winning Wimbledon.
Loses in the first round at the French Open, the first and only time in a Grand Slam event.
Comes to the U.S. Open in a quest to become the first player since Steffi Graf, in 1988, to win all four major tournaments in the same year.
Wins Wimbledon, her first major title in two years.
AMANDA COX AND JOE WARD/THE NEW YORK TIMES
SCRAPBOOK BY HOLLY BRAFORD;PHOTOGRAPH BY TONY CENICOLA/THE NEW YORK TIMES
‘At the beginning of the year, this is the one I really wanted to win.So that was the first thing and the main thing on my mind.’
JULY 11, after winning her sixth Wimbledon title
One Slam Down,One to GoSerena Williams dis-patched longtime rivals and players who had looked up to her when they were children to complete her second so-called Serena Slam, holding all four Grand Slam singles titles at the same time. She also achieved the feat after winning the 2003 Australian Open.
TURNING POINTS
Heather Watson of Britain served for the match against Williams in the third round, twice coming two points from a victory. “How I pulled through, I really don’t know,” Williams said. In the next round, she faced her sister Venus, their first meeting in a Grand Slam event since 2009.
THE JOURNEY
ROUND 1 Def. Margarita Gasparyan6-4, 6-1
ROUND 2 Def. Timea Babos6-4, 6-1
ROUND 3 Def. Heather Watson6-2, 4-6, 7-5
ROUND 4 Def. Venus Williams6-4, 6-3
QUARTERFINAL Def. Victoria Azarenka3-6, 6-2, 6-3
SEMIFINAL
Def. Maria Sharapova6-2, 6-4
FINAL
Def. Garbiñe Muguruza6-4, 6-4
NEXT STOP: NEW YORK
A SIXTH TITLE AT THE ALL ENGLAND CLUB, A YEAR AFTER A PAINFUL EXIT
JOYFUL REDEMPTION
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N F11THE NEW YORK TIMES, MONDAY, AUGUST 31, 2015
U.S. OPEN PREVIEW A GRAND SLAM JOURNEYU.S. OPEN TITLES
1999, 2002, 2008, 2012, 2013, 2014●
THE TASK IN QUEENS: COMPLETE THE FIRST CALENDAR-YEAR SLAM SINCE 1988
A STEP FROM HISTORY
SCRAPBOOK BY HOLLY BRAFORD;PHOTOGRAPH BY TONY CENICOLA/THE NEW YORK TIMES‘I always dreamt of winning the U.S. Open. I have always
dreamt of winning the Grand Slam. Again, it was just a dream. I never thought I would be close to doing something like that.’
AUG. 27, four days before her first-round match with Vitalia Diatchenko
The ChallengeThat Lies AheadSerena Williams’s home Grand Slam tournament has been the site of several milestones. She has won the U.S. Open six times, in-cluding the last three. She claimed her first major title here at age 17 in 1999. In 2008, after five years of battling injuries and incon-sistency, she won the title in New York and reclaimed the No. 1 ranking. Last year, she failed to advance past the fourth round of any major until she arrived in Queens, where she begana year of dominance.
THE DRAW
No path to a Grand Slam title is easy, but Williams’s draw is a fitting challenge to complete her quest. In her quarter alone are the rising Americans Sloane Stephens, Madison Keys and CoCo Vandeweghe; her sister Venus; and the Swiss phenom Belinda Bencic, one of only two players to beat Williams this year. Possibly waiting in the semifinals is Maria Sharapova, who has not defeated Williams in 11 years but could play the ultimate spoiler.
THE HISTORY
A Grand Slam has been completed at the U.S. Open six times. Two players, Jack Crawford in 1933 and Lew Hoad in 1956, entered the U.S. Championships with a chance at a calendar-year Grand Slam but lost in the final. Martina Navratilova won the first three majors of 1984, but in those years, the Australian Open was the final Grand Slam event of the season. Navratilova lost in the semifinals.
New ResilienceFor Williams
1998
1999
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
Won
Lost
TWO-SETMATCHES
THREE-SETMATCHES
FRENCH OPENAUSTRALIAN OPEN WIMBLEDON U.S. OPEN
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When Serena Williams wins the first set at a Grand Slam event, she wins the match 97 percent of the time. Before this year, when she lost the first set, she came back to win the match ( ) 46 percent of the time.
This year, Williams has lost the first set a career-high seven times (four at the French Open), but has come back to win all seven matches.
She has won the U.S. Open the past three years and has won 27 of her last 28 matches there.
AMANDA COX AND JOE WARD/THE NEW YORK TIMES
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Who could resist occasionally posing thatquestion since the late 1990s, when the sisters —born 15 months apart, African-American outliersfrom gritty Compton, Calif. — began to lay siege toa sport historically and overwhelmingly trendingwealthy and white?
Back then, there was resistance to the take-over. Nowadays, it is difficult to imagine women’stennis without Venus, 35, its elder stateswoman,and Serena, going on 34 and a United States Opentitle away from completing tennis’s first calendar-year Grand Slam since Steffi Graf’s in 1988.
The sisters do not need Clarence the Angel toremind them that it’s been a wonderful sportinglife, though not one without stumbles and set-backs. But the spectating world can grow impa-
For a sizable portion of nearly two transfor-mative decades, one family surname has competi-tively dominated tennis and continually inundatedits news. Think about how an emerging genera-
tion of female players has neverknown a tour without the headliningWilliams sisters, Venus and Serena.
Some telling perspective on thesubject from Garbiñe Muguruza, 21,who grew up in Venezuela andSpain:
“When I was 4 or 5, I turned on the TV, andthey were playing,” said Muguruza, Serena’s vic-tim in last month’s Wimbledon final. “Today, I turnthe TV on, and they are still playing.
“So I am saying, how is this possible?”
tient with the status quo, bored and resentful of itsrepetition. So let’s consider what a Williams-lesstour might have been like had Richard Williams,the family patriarch, never created his most im-probable blueprint.
“In Serena’s case, we would miss probablythe greatest player of all time,” said Patrick Mou-ratoglou, her coach, dispensing with the formalityof her being one major title short of Graf’s 22 inthe Open era and three shy of Margaret Court’s 24over all. “But both of them have done so much forthe sport because they have brought it to anotherlevel on the court and because, yes, of their story.”
With his ex-wife Oracene Price, Richard Wil-liams trained the tandem that has won 28 Grand
Ruling and Redefining Women’s Tennis, Williams Sisters Influenced a Generation
HARVEYARATON
ONTENNIS
U.S. OpenPREVIEW
Serena Williams, withaccuracy under pressureand shrewd placement,has developed the mosteffective serve on theWTA Tour. Page F9.
STRONG SERVEIS ABOUT MORETHAN POWER
Continued on Page F10
Their Impact? Unmatched
SCRAPBOOK BY HOLLY BRAFORD;PHOTOGRAPH BY TONY CENICOLA/THE NEW YORK TIMES
One ChapterTo CompleteIn trips to Melbourne, Paris and Wimbledon this year, Serena Williams picked up the championship trophies as souvenirs. If she adds another U.S. Open trophy to her collection, she will be the first player since Steffi Graf in 1988 — and only the sixth player ever — to complete a calendar-year Grand Slam.
Nearing her 34th birthday, Williams is on the brink of a singular achievement. But if she wins in New York, she will write her name in a few other places in the record book. She will tie Graf’s Open-era record of 22 Grand Slam singles titles and will set an Open-era record for U.S. Open cham-pionships, with seven.
Williams’s results in her title matches this year:
AUSTRALIAN OPENDef. Maria Sharapova6-3, 7-6 (5)
FRENCH OPENDef. Lucie Safarova6-3, 6-7 (2), 6-2
WIMBLEDONDef. Garbiñe Muguruza6-4, 6-4
U.S. OPENFinal, Sept. 12
Serena Williams’s journey — Slam by Slam — begins on Page F2.
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MONDAY, AUGUST 31, 2015 F1
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8 A LOOK BACK
In Grand Slam bids, pressure maybe the most formidable opponent.
9 A LOOK AHEAD
Players to watch at the Open(other than Serena Williams).
‘‘I always dreamt of winning the U.S. Open. I have always dreamt of winning the Grand Slam.’’ — SERENA WILLIAMS
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