Go Serena!

Serena has shown that she is a true champ. She is the Queen of tennis. Best wishes in all you do Serenajwilliams

I think mostly it's been a product of the draws. If Clijsters hadn't lost to Petrova she would have faced Henin in the AO quarters. Sharapova had fierce matches against Henin at the French 3rd round and Serena in the Wimby 4th round. Henin (and Stosur) had the toughest draws at the French, and she did make a Slam final in her 2nd tournament back, that has to count for something, but she's not using her court craft as much.

As for Venus, she's played well, except for when she hasn't. And when she hasn't has been in her Grand Slam matches - losing to Li Na, Petrova and Pironkova. Despite her superior athleticism, she's never seemed to have Serena's ability to find a way to win when things aren't firing on all cylinders.

Serena, of course, is really the only constant. Credit must be given!

Azarenka remains, in my opinion, the only one of the new generation with the talent and drive to win Slams. As much as I love Jelena Jankovic, her horrible loss to Stosur at the French has eroded the last of my faith in her.

Steve--I've been waiting for years for someone to speak to the age issue within a comparative gender context---i.e. the aging Williams sisters alongside the Federer generation (Roddick, Hewitt). I ask because it appears that both the WTA and the ATP tour appear to be plagued by a rash of injuries, complaints about the hard hitting baseline play, lack of variety and new string and racket technology. While the men's draw appears to be deeper (i.e. there appear to be less streakier players there than in the women's draw --hence say the results we see at this Wimbledon), the losses Federer has been taking are worth thinking about in terms of Venus Williams' declining form too. Is tennis no longer a game for the ages? After all, didn't Schiavone just win the French Open? I still think there is room for guile and finesse alongside hard hitting, but we don't see it anywhere in the top players today (Murray perhaps being the exception!). I would love to hear a fair assessment of these questions without going the Billie Jean/Bobby Riggs route.
Ta, Anjali

Anyone is capable of winning. I understand that Serena's shoulder was strapped today. Even without an injury, anyone can win on any given day. That said I'd love to see a Vera Serena final. Even if one of the other girls wins, I hope we are not overwhelmed with "the reign is over" Serena should retire, or conversely that the other person's win is a "fluke." They are all pros and should be capable of winning a match. May the best player of the day come through.

NBC must be praying that a Kvitova - Pironkova final doesn't occur.

"May the best player of the day come through."

AMEN--Serena!

"NBC must be praying that a Kvitova - Pironkova final doesn't occur."

I think there more upset that Federer is gone and there won't be a Nadal/Federer final. I think you have almost the same on the men's side. Rafa and the boys.

Maybe they should have a Rafa/Serena final!

If the matches are competitive and there is someone to identify with, then people will watch. I love an underdog makes good and Pironkova fits that. Plus she has show a true and real personality in her interviews.

You could pretty much say the same thing about the post Graf/Seles era when Hingis dominated. We know what came next. You never know what is on the horizon.

Steve Tignor,

It is clear that the last two Grand Slam tournaments have presented some sort of chaos in the women’s game. Many were expecting an all William’s final, the Belgians to wreak havoc on the draw, or Sharapova, playing well, to storm through the tournament.

I agree that we all expected Serena Williams to dominate after shining bright when she entered the tour. I will disagree with the comment about Serena dominating for the most part over the last couple of years. Serena has had some great results, but it is clear that if she would have stayed healthy and focused over the last six or seven years she would have had a strangle hold on the women’s game!!

The idea of tours age-eligibility rule holding some of the girls back is simply not true. The rule is designed to protect the young women and not to hinder them. So we are still waiting for a player with talent of a Seles or Serena.

Kvitova has a chance to win to and advance to her first Wimbledon Final. It depends on if Serena is going to beat herself or not. Serena has proven so far in this tournament that she is not going to beat herself. I think that Kvitova is definitely going to put up a fight. On paper Serena should win in strait sets, but I that Kvitova is going to take Serena to a third set.

Pironkova should take care of Zvonareva pretty easy in strait sets. Pironkova is pretty solid of both sides, has a good serve, and has great variety of shots. The key to her Pironkova winning is a high first serve percentage, shot variety, and low unforced errors.

Somewhere in the world, on a practice court the next great player is working on her game!!

We shall see Serena win holding up the trophy shortly ladies and gentleman!!!

Serena is a big champion already. I think she can get throught and take home another tittle. If be relexad and cut unforced errors down she can be the champion again...

Azarenka is the best of the young guns but she's just not doing anything that Venus and Serena can't already do.

I HATE SERENA LOSES IN STRAIGHT SETS.

sorry
i hope serena loses in straight sets

"Maybe they should have a Rafa/Serena final!"

lol, that would be some match, the battle of biceps, lol, let the best man win, lol

I, too, have been hoping for someone to step up and rival Serena. Unfortunately, I don't see anyone on the horizon. We have watched a handful make decent challenges in the last couple of years, but they have already fallen off the charts. Ivanovic, Jankovic, Safina, Kuznetsova...to name a few. Even the wonderful Dementieva--whom many think will go down as the greatest player to never win a grand slam--is coming up short and age is against her at this point in her career. This year, Sharapova is playing a bit better and the Belgians are back...but, when is it going to kick in? Clijsters (my personal favorite) continues to lose matches at odd times for odd reasons. Henin is still working on her "new" game. Sharapova isn't going to beat Serena until she cleans that serve up and makes it a weapon versus a liability.

I love tennis and I love all the players, but I find myself liking the older game much better when Graf, Seles and Hingis were around. These were great champions because they won EVERYTHING, not just the majors. I don't see any of the younger players matching their records in their lifetime. Serena, Venus, Clijsters and Henin have the big numbers. Who's next? I see no consistency anywhere on the tour like it used to be. No one can seem to win multiple titles outside of the majors and most Top 10 players are not working their way through the draws properly in the majors. Way too many upsets that should not be happening to players who want to be labeled as "champions".

Consider this: Gabriela Sabatini. We all loved her. Solid game and fun to watch, but probably not considered "great" by most people. Only has 1 major to her name and I believe has only appeared in 2 major finals in her career. But, she has over 600 wins with 27 titles. I honestly don't see anyone on the current top 10 list getting those numbers (other than Serena, Venus and Clijsters). I don't see the Russians or Serbs accomplishing this, but Sharapova is getting close on titles. Everyone has to stay healthy and everyone needs to work hard to step-up their game or they will always be remembered as also-rans. What happened to Serena when she was eliminated from the French? She said she had to practice harder on her serve. Are you kidding me? The most dominating server in women's tennis said she had to work on it more. Look how she's doing at Wimbledon. Anybody else "work" on anything or did they simply stay the same. Champions make adjustments.

No one has mentioned a significant fact. There is a reason that the talented Pironkova has the ranking she has: She is one of the biggest chokers on the tour. So far, at Wimbledon, this has not been the case, and perhaps she's turned a corner. But historically, she has choked away many potential victories.

Got me thinking . . . women's tennis is the only sport that comes to mind where there aren't up-and-comers seriously pounding at the door. Strange.

Serina will win because she has the experience and determination. She will go down as one of the greatest tennis player.
Go Serina!!!!!

GO SERENA, PLEASE, For All Of Our Sakes, I dont Want The Reign Too Be Over or End Just Yet For Her, Venus Williams Has Definitively Seen Her Better Days Gone By,I Don't/Can't See Her Winning Any More Majors, I Will Be Utterly and Completely Shocked,But Serena At Least 15 Majors Before She Is Thru, Thanks For All The Memories Venus Williams,A Former Great Champion! Peace!

To me Serena is Jesus. (Or Jehova, as the case may be). But remember there's only one person who has been able to beat Serena in a Slam this year, and , correct me if Im' wrong, they have a 2-2 record since Jan 2009. The Aussie number one, Sam Stosur.

I am trying to figure out what exactly it is people want from the WTA.

Just a few days ago, there were many (esp. on other tennis sites) seriously lamenting the possibility of "another dreaded all-Williams final). At the start of the tennis season in January people were looking forward to the return of the Belgians, the resurgence of Sharapova, someone to step up and take down Serena. The AO played close to form, except the striking upset of Clijsters, Venus had a decent showing and Henin and Serena played the final. At the French, Sharapova played Henin well, Venus played about as well as to be expected, and a very strong Stosur took out Serena AND Henin, and a crafty, versatile Schiavone played beautifully for the win. There was your new blood for a Slam final folks! And here, this Wimbledon has seen a devastating loss by Venus, and losses by both Belgians, but let's be real did anybody REALLY see Henin or Clijsters winning HERE. So here's MORE new blood people.

Make up your minds.
Do you want the boredom of "the old guard" winning? (OMG a dreaded Williams-Williams!)
Or do you want to complain when we get someone new? (WTH is Kvitova and what's she doing here?)

Or is the problem really that the one seemingly constant player is Serena?

The only way at this point that Serena doesn't win this tournament is if she chokes harder than she ever has in any previous Slam. Obviously she doesn't win them all, but nobody is even close to her.

On second thought, let me please rephrase. Its over.

Hey steve
when justine left she was the holder of the french, us open and the year end champion. She had almost twice the amount of points as the number two player. And from 2003 when she won her first grand slam till 2007(five years) she won 7 grandslam titles, and an Olympic gold medal. And in the middle of those five years she was out sick for a year. So when you write "no one has come along to knock off her and take over"(Serena) I say way to rewrite tennis history. Oh by the way Justine met Serena in three grand slams and won them all in 2007. At least that's the way I remember it.

Daryl, Henin became dominant after she bulked up (some assumption of steroid use). During that time she beat Serena 3 times in a major and she never did that before (except for the time she cheated at the French). Serena use to beat her on a regular leading up to that point. Why did Henin suddenly retire? was she trying to get out before the wta strict drug testing policy kick in? She is now back playing the game she use to play (sticking around long enough for her opponent to choke) before being so call dominant.

All I'm saying that somewhere in those five years 2003-2007, outside of the U.S.and these tennis writers heads, Justine was considered the best player in the world. So somewhere in that teeny tiny time when steve says "maybe why she’s never been knocked off that pedestal" I say well someone did even if you don't like it.

I don't know if it's a testament to her greatness or a sad commentary to her stubbornness that Venus has won the number of majors she has won. With her shaky serve and shakier forehand, it's amazing she has been so successful. It is amazing that she

Serena should be gender checked. The rumors are out that “she” might be a MAN.
No wonder she has such a fast serve and shots, and that she’s easily beating everyone in the womens draw.

Got cut off. It's amazing she hasn't improved those glaring weaknesses in all these years. She can still do it and challenge for majors. If she doesn't, she is done.

I have this terrible hunch that Zvonareva will beat Serena in the final. But I hope it's just a nightmare from hell. lol

Ty, Venus only has a shaky serve and forehand when she's playing bad, as with anyone. When she's playing well, her serve and forehand are one of the most lethal weapons on tour. So no, it's not "amazing" that she has been so successful, it's to be expected.

daryl,
I don't think Steve is rewriting history as you say. My take on Steve's write-up is that Serena has been the most consistent contender for the past decade and therefore as she is the one still standing tallest amongst the current crop of players, she IS the one whom no one has TRULY knocked off the pedestal.

"All I'm saying that somewhere in those five years 2003-2007, outside of the U.S.and these tennis writers heads, Justine was considered the best player in the world."

Won't argue that point. Justine won 7 Slams from 2003 - 2007. Serena only won 4 Slams during those years.

In '03, Serena and Justine each won 2 Slams.
In '04, Henin won 1, Serena was shut out. (Serena was off the tour due to knee surgery for the '03 USO, '04 AO both won by Henin,and lost the '04 Wimby to Sharapova and the infamous '04 USO loss to Capriati in the quarters)
In '05, Serena and Justine each won a Slam (Venus and Clijsters were the other winners, Henin did not play the AO won by Serena)
In '06, Henin won 1 Slam, Momo won 2 Slams and Sharapova won 1 (Serena did not play FO or Wimby that year, Henin reaches all 4 finals that year)
In '07, Henin won 2 Slams, Serena won 1 (Henin did not play the AO won by Serena, this is the "glorious year", where Serena lost to Henin in 3 straight quarterfinals, no excuses, Henin beat Serena: at the French and was the eventual champion, at Wimby but loses to Bartoli in the semis, and at the USO where she was the eventual champion).

The thing is Serena was winning Slams BEFORE Henin started winning, WHILE Henin was winning, AND AFTER Henin stopped winning (retirement) and has CONTINUED winning after Henin's un-retirement.

"steve says "maybe why she’s never been knocked off that pedestal" I say well someone did even if you don't like it."

Serena is like that kids toy, she might weeble wobble but she won't fall down.

I think the draws at the last two slams have been unfortunate and are the main reason we have seen such unusual results at these grand slams.
If Henin had been drawn in Venus's quarter at the French then I think she would have probably gone throuh and won the whole event (could Sam have played as well against Henin in a final as in the 4th round?).
And at Wimbledon the quarter with Stosur as the highest seed was very light on elite talent.

Draws will always throw up uneven sections and create the environment for surprise winners and finalists. It is a pity though when the best of the best are meeting early rather then directly fighting for the victories that really matter. Though given the nature of tennis draws such an issue only arises when the best of the best are not ranked as the best. So arguably it all works out right in the end.

temes,
saw your post re:Vee on Bodo's blog and yes when you think of the fact of Venus losing all those Slam finals to Serena...how much greater could her legacy have been, how many more Slams could she have won?

I guess because they had each other, they were made stronger players, and maybe without one another they would have been lesser players. I still marvel at Vee's record and it's annoying when people quickly write her off like she was a one-Slam wonder, esp since people with much lesser credentials have their praises sung to the high heavens. And she is still winning titles, so go figure.

Say whatever you want but the world no. 1 is still in the tournament! She do not take unnecessary upset! Knowing her, as long as she got an air in her lung, she fight even if it stretches to hours. GO SERENA!

As much as I loved to see Schiavone winning the French Open, I still think it's luck that helped her. I'm not saying that she isn't good, but that goodness hasn't paid off in the past years. Come to think of it, she had an easy draw at FO and her semifinal match would have been a different story if Dementieva wasn't injured. In my opinion, we shouldn't expect Schiavone to defend her title in next year's FO.

Talking about the new generation. We see great debuts but no continuous good results.It feels like they play well at the beginning of their careers and fade out afterwards when we start to think that they may threaten the champs.

One thing more, I'm starting to think about Federer's new holdback.He's losing to people he hasn't lost to before(He was up 12-0 against Soderling until he was beaten in their 13th encounter at this year's FO.almost the same happened at last year's US Open except that he was only up half his Soderling 12 match streak against Del Potro). Is Federer gradually climbing down the success hill just the way he has gradually climbed it up? That's a question to think about since his 22 consecutive Grand Slam semifinals was ended by the hands of Soderling. To many, many players to reach the QF of Slam is a dream come true. However, to Federer it's considered an underachievement, especially that it wasn't Nadal or Murray who beat him. It's like Federer isn't considering anything but Grand Slams anymore and even in these, he isn't doing that great tennis we used to see from him

Thanks Steve! What A wonderful article. Personally, I really do worry for Women's Tennis. It's got Serena who is just sheer power and congratulations to her, but we are lacking a Navratilova or a Graf, really to stop Serena in her dominance. I swear though once some of the top players retire, we may face a different situation. Maybe it just takes time.

@shadow puppet Sabatini didn't win as much as she could 'cause she had to play during an Era when the top of the women's game was dominated by legends who were making the history of this sport. Not just one... two, three, four altogether. When she first turned pro as a teenager in 1985 Navratilova and Evert were still going strong, then in 1987 Steffi Graf took over and she was almost unbeatable for a couple of seasons until another alien like Monica Seles came along. Gaby reached an endless number of Grand Slam semifinals losing most of them to Martina, Chris, Steffi and Monica. It's crazy to think that a quality player like Gaby peaked only at number 3 in the ranking and players like Safina, Jankovic or Ivanovic made it to number 1. Had she played between 2005 and 2010 Gaby would have easily made it to number 1 even without a serve. But hey... the late 80s and early 90s were a golden era for women's tennis, so many great champions all at the top at the same time with different personalities and distinctive styles and looks. I mean, in 1992 the ranking was: 1.Seles, 2.Graf, 3.Sabatini, 4.Navratilova, 5.Capriati

I Like To Refer To Head To Head Records, All In All Serena Williams Versus Justine Henin 8-6, Venus Williams Head To Head Versus Justine Henin 7-2,Serena Williams Grand Slam Titles 12 Majors As Of Today,I See 13 Majors Shortly,Venus Williams 7 Majors,Her Biggest Problems, Serena Williams,and She Never Even Cared To Improve Her Weaknesses Whatsoever, How Could You Not Improve Venus At All, Well No More Singles Majors For Her For Sure, As For Justine Henin, 7 Majors, Maybe One or Two More Coming, I Am Not Too Sure, We Will All See.,
I Still See Serena Williams Winning At Least 15 Majors Before She Is Completely Thru With The Singles,For Sure!

I wouldn't classify Zvonareva as an unknown. She's been around for a while and has made a few quarterfinals at slams in the past. I believe she has a couple doubles slam titles, and if it wasn't for her ankle injury she's had to deal with, she'd probably have some better results. I'm hoping for the final to between Serena and Vera.

@Larry,

If Sabatini were playing today, she'd be hard pressed just to make the top ten, let alone making it to no. 1. Seems you did a little revisionist thing when describing her era. Fact is, ya she played during two era of all-time greats (Martina and Chris, and Steffi and Monica). But, there were other players during those period who careers and rankings exceeded Sabatini's. Sanchez-Vicario won 4 slams, made the finals of at least 4 other slams and hit hit number 1. Conchita Martinez won Wimbledon and made it to 2 other slam finals and peaked at number 2. Hana Mandlikova won 2 of her 4 slams after Sabatini joined the tour and her highest ranking is the same as Sabatini's. Fact is Sabatini was somewhat of a head case and never fully lived up to her potential. If she couldn't handle the Graf's, Seles, Vicario's and Martinez, how would she have been able to handle the Williams, Henin's and Clijsters?

Serena looks awful, very nervy. She couldn't make more retarded UEs. Balls into the net at all the wrong times making it much more difficult a match than it should be.

i remember seeing serena a while back in some movie called planet of the apes

Serena knows how to win ugly sometimes, something his contemporaries must learn. And to held nerves when it matters is a very critical thing not to be ignored, as it will cost you too much. You can get rare opportunities to Serena, so grab it when you have it. Her consistency and mental toughness, even when she's down is very much impressive.

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/413860-serena-williams-and-the-wannabees

Eric, yes I remember that movie. I think your mom made an appearance in it as well. I know, I know, I shouldn't go down to your level, but I couldn't help myself. Forgive me, dear readers. LOL.

@jdtennisusa: totally agree with you!!

haha, i'm sorry jd and sunny, are you sympathetic to the apes passing for humans subculture? you are forgiven, dear jd, because you're likely an ape-ish character yourself. but at least you know your chat acronyms and use them to such cute effect. LOL, OMG!!! and sunny, it just makes you look dumb when all you can say is, "YEA!!!! TOTALLY WHAT THE LAST PERSON SAID!!!!" even apes are more clever than that.

Eric, apes may be more clever than that, but you are not.

I'd rather be an ape than the type of person you appparently are--a bigoted, sorry excuse for a human being who is so hateful of someone who has more fame, popularity and more money than you and your ilk can ever hope to have!

I loove it!!!

i guess you don't need a high school equivalency credentials to post on here, huh jd? why don't you stick to the point. never said anything about race. are you black? if so, now i get it. i just kicked your gorilla mom out of the house, so i've got all night to amuse myself responding to her baby girl's comments. next time, spell check. your turn, numbnuts.

Eric, one more thing, genius, LOL and OMG are not acronyms. Don't worry, I don't expect non-apes to know this. ROFL!!!!

Eric, I purposely used two o's in "loove" it.

I don't have to be black to identify the racist comments you and so many of your ilk have posted on this and other message boards--I just have tobe a decent and perceptive human being. If you can't/don't/won't acknowledge that it is inappropriate to compare a black person to an ape, then I can't help you.

As for your attempts to assail my intelligence, I will let my posts speak for themselves. Believe me, though, anyone with a discerning eye would conclude that you have very little (if any) formal education.

Sincerely,

jd ("the Ape") tennisusa