Serena Williams: Rising from Sister's Shadows - Part II
Lull Before The Storm…
After having won her maiden Slam in 1999, Serena went without a major for the next two seasons even as Venus Williams won four in 2000 and 2001. The younger Miss Williams however more than compensated for that two year lull by enjoying breathtaking success in 2002 that continued right up to the early part of 2003. She won her second Grand Slam title by picking up the French Open in 2002 and by the end of Australian Open in 2003, Serena had completed a career Grand Slam.
In The Company Of Greats!
The win at the Australian Open also meant that Serena Williams was the simultaneous holder of each of the majors making her just the fifth women in history to do so, the other four being Maureen Connolly Brinker, Margaret Court, Martina Navratilova and Steffi Graf. The Williams sisters went onto win their sixth Grand Slam doubles in the same tournament.
Inconsistencies, Injuries…
Serena would successfully defend her Wimbledon crown in 2003 but thereafter had a spate of inconsistent results which meant that she lost her no. 1 ranking as well, which she had earned after winning her first title at the All England Club in 2002. Serena didn’t win a single major in 2004 and between 2005 and 2007, won only two Grand Slams, both coming at the Australian Open.
Moreover, she skipped three Grand Slams in that period and suffered pre-quarter final exists consistently at both, Wimbledon and US Open. Her ranking had dropped outside the top 10 and injuries, especially to her knees had a big role in the downfall.
Back In Business
2007 started off on a bright note for Serena even as she had entered the Australian Open as an unseeded star, courtesy of her world ranking of 81 at that point in time. By winning her third Australian Open title there, Serena was back in business and since then has been back to her very best on the tour. The last two seasons, 2009 and 2010 though have been particularly impressive with the star having four majors in this period.
Success at Wimbledon in 2010 further consolidated her no. 1 position at the top, a position she’s held for 111 weeks now.
Controversies..
Much like the way Serena and Venus Williams were instrumental in bringing Hingis’ rule to a halt, Justine Henin almost single handedly was responsible for ensuring that the Williams sisters didn’t end up winning every Grand Slam during the 2000s. Serena Williams especially even had her share of controversies with the Belgian, the most famous coming at the 2003 French Open.
Henin v Williams, 2003 French Open…
In the semi-final, Williams questioned Henin’s sportsmansip who in Williams’ opinion had waved her hand as an indication to say she was not ready to receive the serve.
Williams, however, had already served as she was slow in picking up Henin’s signal and as it turned out, her serve crashed into the net. Henin on her part denied anything of that sort to the chair umpire who herself had failed to pick up Henin’s signal to Williams. Serena protested vociferously then and had a go at Henin’s spirit of play. To Williams’ credit, video replays later showed that the Belgian had indeed indicated to Serena that she wasn’t ready to receive serve then and later denied that on knowing that she’ll get to receive a ‘second-serve’
Clijsters v Williams, 2009 US Open…
Another match featuring Williams with a Belgian ended up being controversial, this time the opponent being Kim Clijsters. At the 2009 US Open semi-final, Serena allegedly threatened the line umpire of dire consequences after she was foot-faulted at a crucial moment in the match.
That loss of point gave Clijsters two match points but what followed next was even more dramatic. Serena was penalized by the Chair Umpire for unsportsmanlike conduct which gave Kim Clijsters the match and an entry into the final of the tournament.
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