The woman responsible for some of the greatest tennis in history was nearly responsible for its greatest choke. Instead, Serena Williams survived one of the most surreal scenes this century to win the French Open and her jaw-dropping 20th Grand Slam on Saturday, defeating No. 13 seed Lucie Safarova 6-3, 6-7 (2), 6-2. She becomes just the second player of the Open era (man or woman) to get to 20 majors and is now two behind the all-time leader, Steffi Graf with 22. The world No. 1 also becomes the first woman since Jennifer Capriati to win the first two legs of the calendar Slam, extended her major winning streak to 21 matches and is one Wimbledon title away from another Serena Slam, which would make her the reigning champion at all four majors.
But it almost all slipped away, thanks to an inexplicable case of the yips that hit as Serena was serving at 4-1, 40-15, up a set and two breaks. Just one point away from 5-1, Serena double-faulted three times to hand No. 13 Lucie Safarova the game. She was broken twice more, then routed in a tiebreak to even the match and send it to the most unlikely third set in recent memory.
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Dropping f-bombs left and right (finally earning a code violation after hitting about a baker’s dozen), Serena was broken in her opening service game of the third, giving Safarova her first lead of the match. But Serena quickly broke back, the broke again and once again had the match on her racquet. This time, she didn’t let it get away.
The odds were stacked high against the Czech from the outset — Serena was 19-4 in Grand Slam finals entering Saturday and Safarova was making her Grand Slam final debut. Then, those odds got stacked even higher after the first set, as Serena’s record when taking the first set of a Slam final was a fairly impressive 17-0.
But when the yips came (an effect of the “flu,” perhaps?) It was an unbelievable turnaround in a match Serena had so thoroughly dominated. Whereas Safarova barely had room to breathe for the first 60 minutes of the match, she all of a sudden had visions of a title in her head, which is what perhaps undid her in the third set.
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Surprisingly, this is “just” Serena’s third French Open title. But, in a stat that flaunts her dominance, she’s still fifth all-time in Roland Garros titles despite it being her most inept Slam, by far. She didn’t win the tournament from 2003-2012 and suffered the worst defeat of her Grand Slam career — a first-rounder in 2012 to Virginie Razzano — during that stretch. But like all great champions, Williams adapted, opting to playing quicker, more aggressive points to nullify the slowing effects of clay. Now she has two titles in Paris in the past three years.
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Williams had been fighting an illness all week — perhaps a little too publicly. But whereas she looked like she needed an escort every time she walked back to the baseline in the semifinals, Serena played as if the 48 hours of rest before the final paid huge dividends. She appeared fresh both before, during and after points and certainly can’t blame an illness on the near-choke.
Now, in three weeks, the tennis world converges upon Wimbledon for what will be one of the most anticipated Slams in years. Serena will have her chance to continue her Grand Slam, while Novak Djokovic may be doing the same. Given her struggles in Paris, even before the illness that almost forced her from Sunday’s final (a fact parroted by NBC all match, much to John McEnroe’s doubt and dismay), don’t expect a Serena Slam. A Wimbledon upset feels in the cards, especially after the mental and physical toll taken on Serena on Saturday. However, given her 21-match winning streak at the U.S. Open, expect another Slam there, then a tie and pass of the great Graf sometime next year, thus putting away all doubt as to the identity of the greatest women’s tennis player in history.
While a choke might have undone some of that greatness, her survival fortified it instead.
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