b Tennis Server ATP/WTA Pro Tennis Showcase - 2009 Wimbledon - Serena Superior; Wins Wimbledon and 11th Grand Slam Title
nodot nodot
Pro Tennis Showcase
July 4, 2009

Subscribe to Match Reports

Pro Tennis Showcase Archive

Player Profile Index (Men)
Player Profile Index (Women)

Contact Tennis Server

Tennis Server
HOME PAGE

Do You Want To Be A Better Tennis Player?

Then Sign Up For A Free Subscription to the Tennis Server INTERACTIVE
E-mail Newsletter!

Tom Veneziano You will join 13,000 other subscribers in receiving news of updates to the Tennis Server along with monthly tennis tips from tennis pro Tom Veneziano.
 
Best of all, it is free!

Tennis Features Icon TENNIS FEATURES:

TENNIS ANYONE? - USPTA Pro John Mills' quick player tip.
 
TENNIS WARRIOR - Tom Veneziano's Tennis Warrior archive.
 
TURBO TENNIS - Ron Waite turbocharges your tennis game with tennis tips, strategic considerations, training and practice regimens, and mental mindsets and exercises.
 
WILD CARDS - Each month a guest column by a new writer.
 
BETWEEN THE LINES - Ray Bowers takes an analytical and sometimes controversial look at the ATP/WTA professional tour.
 
PRO TENNIS SHOWCASE - Tennis match reports and photography from around the world.
 
TENNIS SET - Jani Macari Pallis, Ph.D. looks at tennis science, engineering and technology.
 
MORTAL TENNIS - Greg Moran's tennis archive on how regular humans can play better tennis.
 
HARDSCRABBLE SCRAMBLE - USPTA pro Mike Whittington's player tip archive.
 
TENNIS EQUIPMENT TIPS.

Tennis Community Icon TENNIS COMMUNITY:


Tennis Book, DVD, and Video Index
 
Tennis Server Match Reports
 
Editor's Letter
 
Become a Tennis Server Sponsor

Explore The Tennis Net Icon EXPLORE THE TENNIS NET:

Tennis News and Live Tennis Scores
 
Tennis Links on the Web
 

nodot
Pro Tennis Showcase Banner
 
Green Dot
 
Tennis Warehouse Logo
 
Green Dot

 
nodot
2009 Wimbledon
The All England Lawn Tennis & Croquet Club, London, UK - July 4, 2009
Editorial by Jane Voigt.

 

Jane Voigt Photo
Jane Voigt

Serena Superior; Wins Wimbledon and 11th Grand Slam Title
 
July 4, 2009 -- They really are the best. And each is the others strongest competitive threat. Today on Centre Court, little sister Serena Williams served better. It was her superior measure for the win -- her third Wimbledon Ladies' Singles Championship and her eleventh Grand Slam title.
 
Serena Williams' brashly efficient serves, her penetrating groundstrokes, and her unyielding conviction of her ability to win carried her through the two set match. As it wore on, Venus showed signs of wear. She fell three times on the slippery grass outside the dusty baseline. Her face revealed an internal struggle -- her mind working to solve the Serena conundrum. Venus looked young and vulnerable, even though the years disclose a different reality.
 
"This is one of the few times I didn't expect to come out with the win," Serena said. "I felt like I had nothing to lose. I felt like all I had to do is go out there and do my best, just stay even, because she's such a good player."
 
In the first set Venus had two break chances in the eighth game. At 15/40, Serena saved one break point with an unreturnable serve. She saved the next one with an ace. At 40-all, Venus committed an error. At advantage Serena, she hit an ace. It was 4-games all. It was the last time Venus saw a break point.
 
"I went for too much," Venus said, about her second break point. "I don't think she was recovering and I thought she was gonna be there. So, yeah, basically just went for a little too much."
 
At 5-games all in the same set, Serena tried her best to break. Rallies were extended and each player drawn wide on one point, their shots first down the line then cross court making a figure-eight pattern on Centre Court. Finally, the unforced error from Venus. But she collected herself, sending two unreturnable serves into Serena's body. And then, Venus won the game with an ace.
 
It was in the tiebreak that Serena's measure of excellence rose to the surface, and Venus's serve faltered. Venus hit one unreturnable serve, one forceful return of serve, and got another point when Serena committed an error off her forehand. Those were her three points.
 
"When I won that first set, I was like, Wow, this is great," Serena said. "No matter what, I'm a set away. So I was just trying to relax."
 
In her relaxed state Serena she pounded second serves. Hit three forehand winners. And on set point, she amazed everyone with a backhand topspin lob that caught the baseline and, of course, cleared Venus's six-foot-two-inch frame.
 
In the sixth game of the second set, Serena saw her first break point. She didn't have to work for the conversion, either. Venus double faulted. The match would soon be over.
 
"I definitely would have liked to have moved forward," Venus began. "When I had the short balls, they were low and it's hard to come in on those and actually hit an effective shot and come in."
 
Venus tried to make Serena serve out the match at 2/5. Down 0/30, Venus evened the game at 30-all with an overhead smash. She would hit one more overhead winner to stave off her loss.
 
On her fourth championship point, though, Serena sent a return of serve to her sister's feet and Venus didn't get under the ball enough to lift it over the net. The match went to Serena Williams 76 (3) 62.
 
Serena Williams juiced up her serve early in the match. At the end of the first set she had 8 aces. She had won 95% of the points when her first serve went in and 64% of the points when her second serve counted. At the net, she was four for four. The momentum was tremendously in her favor.
 
She accelerated everything in set two, maintaining a 91% first-serve percentage and an 86% on second serves. Her second serve proved as effective as her first. With Venus's unforced errors on the rise and outstripping winners, Serena crowded big sister Venus off her home court.
 
Had Venus been able to get her serve back on track, the match would have turned. However, she did not. Her head dropped before she contacted the ball on her serves, a hitch she grooves when struggling. With her serve hampered, her ground game suffered and then her confidence slowly eroded by the combination.
 
"I think towards the end I was too far behind the baseline," Venus began. "I did realize that, but at that point I guess, you know, it was a little deep into the match."
 
Serena Williams now has eleven Grand Slam titles, with her win today, and three Venus Rosewater Platters. She is 11-10 against her sister, now, too. The contributions she has made to the sport are difficult, or impossible, to articulate. Her own career and the heights it might reach are points for her to contemplate. Will she be the greatest ever?
 
"That would be a great legacy," Serena said. "I'm really just playing for me, whether I'm the greatest or not. I can't even put myself in a sentence with the greatest because I think of people like Martina Navratilova and Steffi Graf and Billy Jean King. They were great champions. To even be mentioned with those people is a real honor to me."
 
Earlier Columns from this Event:
 
July 3, 2009 Wimbledon Coverage: The Other Andy Wins; Federer into Seventh Straight Wimbledon Final
July 2, 2009 Wimbledon Coverage: Williams's Conquer Center Court, Again
July 1, 2009 Wimbledon Coverage: Roddick to Play Murray in Semifinals; Federer to Play Haas
June 30, 2009 Wimbledon Coverage: Oh Those Bad Bounces
June 29, 2009 Wimbledon Coverage: The Wise and Experienced - Roof or No Roof
June 28, 2009 Wimbledon Coverage: Sunday... A Day of Rest
June 27, 2009 Wimbledon Coverage: Qualifier Oudin Ousts J. J., Lisicki Downs Kuznetsova
June 26, 2009 Wimbledon Coverage: As The Draw Turns
June 25, 2009 Wimbledon Coverage: Hewitt Takes Charge as Murray Rolls
June 24, 2009 Wimbledon Coverage: Young and Old Compete at Wimbledon
June 23, 2009 Wimbledon Coverage: Sunny Wimbledon
June 22, 2009 Wimbledon Coverage: Wimbledon... The Perfect Grand Slam
 

Green DotGreen DotGreen Dot

Player Profile Index (Men) | Pro Tennis Showcase Archive | Player Profile Index (Women)

SUBSCRIBE TO THE TENNIS SERVER PHOTO FEED

join our mailing list
* indicates required

All Tennis Server photography is copyrighted by the photographer and/or the Tennis Server, and all rights are reserved. You may not copy these images without permission. While you are welcome to create hyperlinks to Tennis Server web pages, you may not embed these images into other web pages or blogs without permission. To request permission, please use this contact form. Please be sure to clearly indicate exactly which photograph(s) you are requesting permission to use, as terms and conditions will vary depending on the photographer and the photograph.


 

nodot
nodot
Google
Web tennisserver.com
nodot nodot
The Tennis Server
Ticket Exchange

Your Source for tickets to professional tennis & golf events.
 
SAI Team Tennis Tournament Tickets
 
Dallas Open Tickets
 
Delray Beach Open Tickets
 
ATX Open Tickets
 
BNP Paribas Open Tickets
 
Miami Open Tickets
 
Credit One Charleston Open Tickets
 
US Men's Clay Court Championships Tickets
 
Wimbledon Tickets
 
Infosys Hall of Fame Open Tickets
 
Atlanta Open Tickets
 
Mubadala Citi Open Tennis Tournament Tickets
 
National Bank Open Women's Tennis Canada Tickets
 
National Bank Open Men's Tennis Canada Tickets
 
Western & Southern Open Tickets
 
Winston-Salem Open Tickets
 
US Open Tennis Championship Tickets
 

 

Popular Tennis books:
 
Winning Ugly: Mental Warfare in Tennis-Lessons from a Master by Brad Gilbert, Steve Jamison
 
The Best Tennis of Your Life: 50 Mental Strategies for Fearless Performance by Jeff Greenwald
 
The Inner Game of Tennis by W. Timothy Gallwey
 
Most Recent Articles:
 
October 2022 Tennis Anyone: Patterns in Doubles by John Mills.
 
September 2022 Tennis Anyone: Short Court by John Mills.
 

 

 

 

"Tennis Server" is a registered trademark and "Tennis Server INTERACTIVE" is a trademark of Tennis Server. All original material and graphics on the Tennis Server are copyrighted 1994 - by Tennis Server and its sponsors and contributors. Please do not reproduce without permission.

The Tennis Server receives a commission on all items sold through links to Amazon.com.

 

Tennis Server
Cliff Kurtzman
Editor-in-chief
791 Price Street #144
Pismo Beach, CA 93449
Phone: (281) 480-6300
Online Contact Form
How to support Tennis Server as a Sponsor/Advertiser
Tennis Server Privacy Policy