Creature vs. Creature: Serena Williams Is Unstoppable

Many of you might have seen the movie series or read the epic book Lord of the Rings. One of the central character of the series was supposed to be the heir of one of the biggest kingdom of the Middle Earth, but went into exile for years.

He came back as the Strider, to help two little Hobbits in their mission and revealed his identity as Aragorn, the son of Arathorn. The broken sword that was supposed to be his was welded back, and he held it once again to challenge the supremacy of Sauron in the third installment of the series.

It was termed as Return of the King.

Kim Clijsters, the champion of the U.S. Open 2005, is facing a similar situation. She went into exile for two years, embracing family and motherhood, and is now back to challenge Serena Williams, who seems indomitable in the Grand Slams. It will be a fairy tale story if Kim goes on to win the Open, which can be conveniently labeled as “Return of the Queen.”

Unfortunately, Aragorn is a fictional character, while Clijsters is a real one. And truth is not as romantic as fiction.

Introduction

Serena Williams—the world No. 2—is enjoying a Federer-like dominance in majors. She is relentless in her approach, professional in her demeanor, mentally tough during matches and a perfectionist in the results. She is the defending champion of three of the last four majors, and the favorite to win the title.

She has raced through to the semis, without dropping a single set. This is especially admirable in the tournament where the top seeds have fallen like nine pins and three-set matches have been the norm. Her performance against Daniela Hantuchova made the spectators drop their jaws in awe while making her opponents shake their head in self-resignation.

Her opponent in the round of final four would be the Belgian sweetheart, Clijsters, who has enjoyed a dream run since her comeback.

Unfortunately, her progress is most likely to be halted as she faces the defending champion. Check out the opinion of Rohini Iyer, who thinks otherwise.

Will Win If...

Serena’s power game often eclipses her professionalism. She was ahead 6-2 and 5-0 against Hantuchova, facing her serve. Instead of letting the game go and close it out on serve, she fought four game points, and lost two match points. She still fought as if match point down, and did not need her serve to close it out.

Professionalism aside, her game has been of the highest quality. Her first serve percentage never dropped below 60 in the tournament, reaching a peak of 73 percent against Hantuchova. Moreover, she has committed a mere 10 double faults in five matches—less than half of what Sharapova did against Oudin!

Clijsters, on the other hand, has thrived on her accurate serving, lack of the opponent’s mental toughness, and cashing up on weak second serves.

Serena has got powerful returns, is mentally tougher than any other player on tour, and has got the best second serve among the ladies.

In short, Clijsters will have her work cut out on Friday.

Will Lose If...

The Belgian lady will have to play a perfect match if she has to have any chance of winning. If she plays like Dementieva did in the semis of Wimbledon, her mental toughness—which is much much better than that of the Russian—will see her through.

Serena likes time to play her ground strokes. Don’t give her any. Receive the serves from the baseline—which Kim has done so far—even if you are hit for aces. Aim close to the lines. Use slices in between. Do not be honest against her.

Serena’s movement toward the net is pathetic, so play those drop shots when needed and approach the net infrequently and make Serena pass you.

In short, Clijsters needs to play exactly like she uses to play, but at a much higher level, for three sets.

Intangibles

Her first serve, second serve, ground strokes, mental toughness, the decibels that will keep on increasing with the length of the match and the fact that she is Serena Williams.

She fought multiple match points against Dementieva and came back to win the match. This is the determination that is we are talking about.

Shots To Look Out For

The angle that Serena generates on her inside out backhand from the mid court is reminiscent of Andre Agassi. Her lateral movement on court is not the best, but she more than makes up for it by hitting amazing shots—both forehand and backhand—on the run.

Prediction

Serena Williams in straight sets.