US Open: Serena Williams’ last hurrah at home grand slam headlines fascinating two weeks of tennis history
By Sports Illustrated
June 12, 2016
This story about Serena Williams is both a sports story and a personal one. Williams is now the mother of three, and the mother of six children.
Last week, Williams finished her comeback with a 6-3, 6-0 win over the two-time defending champion Caroline Wozniacki. At this point, it is difficult to understand how the world will ever forget this match.
Williams began the day trailing 1-2 after being broken in the second game of the third set, but came back in dominant fashion. In fact, Williams won the entire match, and broke Wozniacki twice. It was Williams’ first victory since August of 2014. Wozniacki had won three of the previous four meetings, but in her first Grand Slam defeat, she was reduced to tears on court.
“We got to talking in the locker room, and I just wanted to give her a hug,” Wozniacki said. “And after I hugged her, I realized that I have six kids and they have to be strong. I have to be strong for them. We have a long way to go.”
This week, we will also be able to see the true colors of the former world number one on court, because Williams’ match against Wozniacki will be televised on ESPN, the first Grand Slam to add Fox network broadcasting to the weekend schedule.
Williams, now ranked No. 11, was the No. 1 player at the U.S. Open, according to the world tennis rankings, from 2007 through 2010. But after dropping 18 ranking spots in the preceding eight years, Williams has moved into the top 20, and is now sitting more than 100 spots higher than when she first won an official Grand Slam title in 2008, when she was the No. 4 player in the world.
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