The voices inside Serena Williams
Sometimes the only woman capable of beating the world’s best player is herself
Despite everything that Serena Williams has won and done, her sense of self can still fluctuate, based on the outcome of a particular match.
It doesn’t always seem to matter that she owns a record- tying 22 major singles titles heading into the US Open, which begins on Tuesday with a retractable roof at Arthur Ashe Stadium for the first time.
It’s not necessarily a big deal to her that she’s spent the past 3 ½ years entrenched at No 1 and is the oldest woman ever to top the WTA rankings.
There are times when the 34- yearold American basically forgets that she transcends her sport and has become a cultural icon away from the tennis court.
Williams is devastated when she is dealt a setback, such as last year’s “Did that really happen?” loss to Roberta Vinci in the US Open semifinals, ending an attentiongrabbing, pressure- piling bid for the first calendar- year Grand Slam by anyone in more than a quartercentury. Williams acknowledges she measures herself constantly.
“Unfortunately, I definitely do, which I don’t think is normal. I definitely feel like when I lose, I don’t feel as good about myself,” she said.
“But then I have to, like, remind myself that: ‘ You are Serena Williams!’ You know? Like, ‘ Are you kidding me?”’ Williams continued, laughing and leaning forward. “And it’s those moments that I have to just, like, come off and be like, ‘ Serena, do you know what you’ve done? Who you are? What you continue to do, not only in tennis [ but also] off the court? Like, you’re awesome.’ That really just shows the human side of me. I’m not a robot.”
She i s at the stage of her career where history is in the offing nearly every time a racket i s in her right hand. So while the stakes are different from what they were at Flushing Meadows in 2015, Williams does have something significant to play for yet again.
After equalling Steffi Graf for the most Grand Slam titles in the professional era ( which dates to 1968) by winning Wimbledon last month, Williams now can break that tie by earning No 23 in New York. Only Margaret Court owns more major singles trophies, with 24, but more than half of that total came against amateur competition.
“One thing I learned about last year i s to enjoy the moment,” Williams said. “I’m definitely going to enjoy this.”
Good thing, too, because not everything has gone smoothly since that most recent triumph. Slowed by a bothersome right shoulder, Williams lost in the third round of singles and first round of doubles at the Rio de Janeiro Olympics — she was a 2012 gold medallist in both events — and then pulled out of a hard- court tuneup event in Ohio.
Williams is assured of remaining at No 1 until the end of the US Open, which will bring her current streak to 186 weeks in a row, t ying another mark held by Graf.
Depending on what happens in the tournament, Williams could be overtaken in the rankings by Angelique Kerber ( who beat Williams in the Australian Open final in January), Garbine Muguruza ( who beat Williams in the French Open final in Fiji sevens rugby coach Ben Ryan says he is weighing almost 20 job offers that have poured in since he guided the country to its first gold medal at the Rio de Janiero Olympics. Ryan’s contract with the Fiji Rugby Union ends on September 3 and he has resisted all efforts to keep him in the job he has held since 2013. One offer is believed to have come from the Japan national rugby sevens team and others from Super Rugby teams in Australia, Japan and New Zealand. Defending champion Petra Kvitova needed just an hour to beat Ekaterina Makarova 6- 3, 6- 1 and move into the semifinals of the Connecticut Open, despite suffering from a cold. The Czech star will face top- seed Agnieszka Radwanska of Poland in the semifinals. Radwanska beat lucky loser Kirstin Flipkens, of Belgium, 6- 1, 6- 4. Patrick Reed didn’t break anything yesterday except par. The American kept a clean card and shot 5- under 66 to share the lead with Martin Laird at The Barclays. They were one shot ahead of three other Ryder Cup hopefuls — Rickie Fowler, Kevin Chappell and J. B. Holmes, whose 67 was the best score among those who played in stronger wind in the afternoon. Defending champion Jason Day, the No 1 seed in the playoffs, was among those at 68. England will go ahead with their cricket tour of Bangladesh as scheduled later this year, despite an attack in the capital Dhaka last month by radical Islamists that left 20 people dead. The England and Wales Cricket Board issued a statement yesterday saying that “England’s tour of Bangladesh will continue as planned”. Sydney Roosters coach Trent Robinson has hinted at moves to extend star halfback Mitchell Pearce’s contract with the NRL club. Signed until the end of next season, Pearce’s place appeared on shaky ground after his drunken Australia Day escapade resulted in an eight- game ban which contributed significantly to the Roosters’ poor start to the season. However, Robinson said yesterday he considers Pearce a key part of the club’s long- term future. Australian John Millman, 27, upset top- seeded Richard Gasquet 7- 5, 6- 3 in the Winston- Salem Open tennis quarter- finals yesterday. Millman advanced to his first ATP World Tour semifinal. He will face 16th- seeded Pablo Carreno Busta, of Spain, a 6- 4, 6- 3 winner over 12th- seeded Alexander Kuznetsov, of Russia. Gasquet, who is 15th in the ATP rankings, holds the No 13 seed in the US Open, which starts on Tuesday. Former Fifa president Sepp Blatter arrived for a marathon appeal hearing against a six- year ban from football yesterday, pledging to accept the verdict of the Court of Arbitration for Sport. Blatter declined to speculate on the verdict which is expected within several weeks. He could challenge the verdict in Switzerland’s supreme court. He denies wrongdoing in authorising a US$ 2 million ($ 2.7m) payment to former Fifa vice- president Michel Platini in 2011.