SERENA SOAP OPERA
US Open Tennis
WHEREVER Serena Williams goes, some kind of drama follows closely behind, especially when it comes to playing Grand Slams.
On the eve of the US Open the crisis du jour involved the apparent banning by the French Open of the famous black catsuit she wore at Roland Garros this year.
When the grandstanding French tennis supremo Bernard Guidicelli issued the decree last week it caused an outcry on social media, with people queueing up to attack the symbolism of the move.
They may have been disappointed that, on this occasion, Williams did not wish to fuel the indignation. In fact she spoke yesterday of an entente cordiale over the issue with the French tennis authorities, even though part of the outfit’s purpose was to protect her from the blood clots that have seriously endangered her health in the past.
‘I feel like if they know that some things are for health reasons, then there’s no way that they wouldn’t be okay with it, so I think it’s fine,’ she said.
‘The president of the French federation, he’s been amazing. He’s been so easy to talk to. My whole team is basically French, so we have a wonderful relationship. I’m sure we would come to an understanding and everything will be okay.’
Perhaps even more than at Wimbledon there is a fascination about whether Williams can win her domestic Grand Slam as a parent, having given birth to daughter Olympia during last year’s tournament. The working mother narrative involving a genuine sporting superstar is the most compelling story of the next fortnight, and television smells a ratings winner.
The fact that Williams did not want to further inflate the catsuit debate suggests a strong desire to avoid distractions, as she tackles a task that will not get any easier with the passing years.
As she pointed out, having a child has not led to her taking a more philosophical attitude towards winning and losing. ‘If anything, I have more fire in my belly,’ said Williams. ‘It’s very difficult to describe. I thought after having a child I would be more relaxed, but I’m not. I work just as hard if not harder actually. I feel like I take it just as serious if not more. That’s been really surprising for me.’
Prior to Wimbledon Williams shared pictures of her showing Olympia to the Centre Court, but it sounds like this will not happen at Arthur Ashe Stadium. ‘It’s a very long drive and Olympia is not very good in the car,’ she said.
Her status as the greatest female player ever has ensured that she starts this tournament as favourite but she faces a lot of hard work to win a 24th Grand Slam title.
Since making the Wimbledon final — helped by a draw that subsided in her favour — she has played only three matches and lost two of them. One was a 53-minute thrashing at the hands of Jo Konta, winning only one game. Again there was unknown drama attached to this jaw-dropping result, as she later revealed that, just prior to the match, she had learned that the man convicted of shooting dead her half-sister Yetunde 15 years ago had been released on parole.
More meaningful in tennis terms was her defeat to Petra Kvitova in Cincinnati two weeks later.
The draw has not been kind to Williams this fortnight, and with the tournament played on hard courts there will not be the same rout of the women’s seeds as on the grass at SW19.
There is a potentially awkward meeting with her sister in the third round and then a match-up against Simona Halep. As Angelique Kerber showed at Wimbledon, the way to beat Williams will be to run her all over the court, testing the movement of someone who will soon turn 37.