Flu can’t keep Serena out of final
Williams drops first set for fourth time at French Open, still chasing 20th major title
PARIS— At changeovers in her French Open semifinal, an ill Serena Williams walked ever so slowly to the sideline, where even lowering herself to sit down seemed difficult.
With the temperature nearing 30 C on the hottest day of the tournament, she pressed white towels filled with ice against her forehead and neck and guzzled water.
In the early going, her play was as poor as her health. She failed to chase balls she normally would. As telling as anything: Even when she won points, Williams mostly refrained from her familiar fist pumps and yells of “Come on!”
Never count her out, though, no matter the circumstances. Down a set and a break Thursday, and clearly not herself, Williams summoned the resolve to reach the final by beating 23rd-seeded Timea Bacsinszky of Switzerland 4-6, 6-3, 6-0.
After getting broken to fall behind 3-2 in the second set, Williams claimed the final 10 games.
“Stunning,” said Williams’ coach, Patrick Mouratoglou. “This is the difference between champions and everyone else. There is no logical explanation. She just has an ability to react when she is in danger.”
Mouratoglou said the No. 1-ranked Williams has been dealing for several days with the flu, including a fever and chest congestion that “makes it difficult to breathe.”
Now one victory from her third French Open championship and 20th major title overall, Williams faces 13th-seeded Lucie Safarova of the Czech Republic in Saturday’s final.
“I tried everything. I thought if I lose, I will lose with a fight,” Williams told the Court Philippe Chatrier crowd in French. “I tried, I tried. I found the energy. I don’t know where, but I found it. And I won. I hope that on Saturday, I hope . . .”
Cutting herself off, she stepped away from the microphone, bent over and began coughing. She offered a quick wave, then collected her things and left. Off the court, she got a hug from Mouratoglou, who helped her down stairs toward the locker room.
“I was worried,” Williams’ mother, Oracene Price, said. “But I knew if she could get through the second set, somehow maybe the adrenaline and God would help her get through the match.”
Next comes Williams’ 24th Grand Slam final, and Safarova’s first.
The left-handed Safarova eliminated defending champion Maria Sharapova in the fourth round, then defeated 2008 French Open winner Ana Ivanovic 7-5, 7-5 on Thursday.
Williams won her semifinal despite dropping the first set for the fourth time in six matches. She’d never fashioned that many comebacks at a single Grand Slam tournament over her long, successful career.
“She has been sick for a while, but she never thought about withdrawing,” Mouratoglou said. “Even on one leg, she will step on court. She always believes that she can pull through. This is her strength. You can’t take it away from her.”