THUNDER & LIGHTNING
Serena able to retain serenity despite facing ‘commundra’ of wind
Slowly but surely Serena Williams is finding her A game, which spells danger for her remaining opponents in Auckland. It has taken two visits, and five matches at the ASB Classic, but yesterday the American superstar showed some of the elements that have made her an all-time great.
At times it was thunder and lightning tennis, with opponent Laura Siegemund caught in the storm, and the ball speed Williams generated was frightening, even where she was off balance or out of position.
But aside from the tremendous shotmaking and brutal power, there was also her trademark grit, as she dug herself out of tricky situations.
Williams will face much tougher opponents than world No 73 Siegemund this year, but the German has been in good form this week and certainly wasn’t intimidated yesterday.
It wasn’t perfect from Williams, but it was her best display of the week, as she defeated Siegemund 6-4 6-3 in just under 90 minutes.
“It was good for me to fight,” said Williams. “She has a good game and she stepped up and hit a lot of good winners so it wasn’t really easy. I had to step up and play a little better.”
The windy conditions continue to be testing, although Williams is taking a much more positive attitude than 2017, and it was hard not to sympathise with her yesterday.
Serving from the Redwood end was particularly difficult, and at one point early in the second set Williams looked exasperated, as the ball disappeared behind her, caught by a gust, just as she was setting up for the shot.
“That was definitely the rougher end,” said Williams. “I’m trying to have a more positive attitude but I got a little negative in the end. It was just so windy.
“Even the last game, man it was crazy but I ended up winning those games, which was good. It’s just good preparation, right?”
Williams is used to enclosed arenas, or large stadium courts, that aren’t generally as exposed as Auckland can be. She’s adjusting, but it seems to affect her more than players with a more conservative style.
Williams got so befuddled she even invented a new word after the match.
“I am definitely not super comfortable,” said Williams. “I’m trying, I feel I would do a little bit better if I wasn’t hitting every shot in a ‘commundra’ of wind, but we are both in the same conditions. She was fine with it, so I’ve just got to do a little bit better.”
But Williams is building momentum nicely, for the remainder of the ASB Classic and the Aussie Open in Melbourne.
“I definitely feel that way,” she said, pointing out there is no substitute for match fitness.
“I feel like my match [on Thursday] was great, I went three sets [and] it was great that I ran so much. I came out today overall feeling better and doing better.”
Early on, Siegemund struggled to deal with the pace Williams can generate, framing three consecutive shots, the third falling out of play.
But as she adapted, she showed the capacity to trouble Williams, particularly with her drop shots.
But the American can shift gears when she needs to. From 4-4, 30-30, she unleashed consecutive aces, followed by a huge roar of “C’mon!”
Then, with Siegemund serving to stay in the set, Williams pushed the go button, with two brilliant passing shots, including a backhand from behind her body on the run to bring up set point.
Williams was broken early in the second set, and looked in trouble serving at 1-3, 0-40, into the teeth of the wind — but she recovered to hold, then won four of the next five games. An angled ace brought up match point, before another backhand winner, as the crowd stood to salute the 23-time Grand Slam winner.
The ASB Classic women’s event is a day away from staging the biggest final in its history.
The dream scenario of Serena Williams meeting Caroline Wozniacki in the showpiece tomorrow evening remains on the cards, after Wozniacki yesterday took down defending champion Julia Goerges 6-1 6-4 in a compelling display of accurate tennis.
Earlier, Williams had progressed past German world No 75 Laura Siegemund 6-4 6-3, to ensure both superstars moved into the last four.
Nothing is assured, and both Williams and Wozniacki will face players in form today, but what a prospect, full of wonderful storylines.
Two former world No 1s, who are best friends off the court. Wozniacki in her penultimate tournament, with Williams already stating she will be “an emotional wreck” at the Australian Open, as she contemplates seeing Wozniacki in action for the last time.
And Williams back in a decider, ahead of her bid for her 24th Grand Slam in Melbourne. There’s also the fact that despite their long careers, they have met only once before in a final, at the 2014 US Open.
There have some great ASB Classic climaxes in the past, particularly the enthralling three-set battles in 2014 (where Ana Ivanovic beat Venus Williams) and 2015 (when Venus trumped Wozniacki), but this would be bigger than Texas, and garner significant attention across the sporting world, especially because of the circumstances.
Wozniacki was impressive yesterday, imperious on serve and typically strong on her return game. She hit three aces, no double faults and landed 81 per cent of her first serves, but was aided by Goerges, who struggled to get going.
“It was a tough day at the office,” said Goerges. “I didn’t feel any ball today, and if you play Caroline you better shoot a ball here and there. It doesn’t look good for you if you don’t have a rhythm.
“She was rock solid, and dealt way better with all the conditions today and it was a well deserved win for her.”
It was a shame for Goerges, who has been a popular champion over the last two years, and brought to an end a 12-match singles winning streak on the Auckland courts.
She also reached a final in 2016, and the last four in 2017, remarkable consistency over a sustained period.
“Overall it was not good enough today,” said Goerges. “Obviously I wanted to win another title here but I knew that it would be tough anyway. I’m very happy with what I have achieved here, and I’ll be back.”
The 31-year-old German looked off-colour from the start, as Wozniacki sprinted to a 4-0 lead, eventually taking the set 6-1.
Goerges offered more resistance in the second set, trying to be more aggressive and found some corners, but made too many errors.
Wozniacki had four break opportunities, took one and was composed enough to convert her second match point.
Wozniacki will face world No 83 Jessica Pegula today. The American moved into the last four with a 6-0 3-2 win over Frenchwoman Alize Cornet, who was battling a thigh injury from the start and retired midway through the second set.
● Eugenie Bouchard was knocked out last night after a fight.
The Canadian wildcard, who ranking has plummeted over the last
12 months, pushed the third seed Amanda Anisimova to the limit in their quarter-final, eventually falling
2-6 6-3 4-6 in almost two hours. Bouchard had her chances, but couldn't made the most of several opportunities late in the third set, while 18-year Anisimova showed impressive composure after flat lining throughout the middle of the match.
A break to the American at 4-4 in the third set was critical, and the world No 24 was good enough to serve ouAnisimova has achieved a lifelong dream, getting to play Williams today before the American icon retires.
It was a great contest last night. Bouchard is ranked No 262, after a horrible 2019 season where she lost 12 matches in a row at one point, before winning a couple at second tier level.
Meanwhile, Anisimova is the star on the rise, moving from No 95 in the world to inside the top 25 in the space of a year, as well as winning her maiden WTA title.
But Bouchard is a fighter, and belied her ranking with solid wins over Kirsten Flipkens and Caroline Garcia this week.
The final set was a thriller. Neither player was convincing but the drama was compelling.