US Open Tennis 2014 Women's Final: Serena Williams, Caroline Wozniacki Preview
Like everyone foresaw, No. 10 Caroline Wozniacki will clash with No. 1 Serena Williams in the women's final at Flushing Meadows to crown a 2014 U.S. Open champion.
Well, fans surely saw half of that equation coming, at least.
Williams has been on an absolute tear and has yet to lose a set in New York this time around, so the more interesting story is automatically Wozniacki. The Danish star is playing the best tennis of her career, and while a large underdog, is vividly a serious threat to the No. 1 player in the world.
.jpg?w=256 "Colts Jaguars Football")
In other words, a wildly unpredictable bracket has birthed a must-see final, as it should.
| September 7 | 4:30 p.m. | CBS | USOpen.org |
The Path Traveled
"Ho-hum" has been the best way to describe things for Williams to this point. After a strange showing at Wimbledon, she bounced back with wins in Stanford and Cincinnati, and that momentum has been out in full force in New York.
Williams took down Taylor Townsend (6-3, 6-1), Vania King (6-1, 6-0), Varvara Lepchenko (6-3, 6-3) and Kaia Kanepi (6-3, 6-3) before finally hitting a bit of a speed bump against No. 11 Flavia Pennetta in the quarterfinals.
There, Williams dropped the first three games and saw her serve broken twice. She then rattled off six games in a row to end up winning, 6-3, 6-2, but if there is a weakness to whisper about, it's her propensity for a slow start.
There was none of that Friday when she took down No. 17 Ekaterina Makarova (6-1, 6-3), a player who had done plenty of unseeding over the course of the tournament, with the highlights being wins over No. 7 Eugenie Bouchard and No. 16 Victoria Azarenka.
It was an ugly affair, obviously. Williams won 77 percent of her first-serve points and went six-of-six at the net while shooting 24 winners to her opponent's six. Much of what we are seeing from Williams is the result of something rather simple—she's relaxed.
"It's so easy now because it's almost a joke for me because I have done little to no winning in the majors," Williams said, per Douglas Robson of USA Today. "I think that definitely has been able to help me to relax, as well."
The same cannot be said about Wozniacki, but it is hard to argue with the results.
She stumbled right out of the gate against Magdalena Rybarikova (6-1, 3-6, 2-0, Retired), a sign many could have mistaken for sloppy play to come. Instead, Wozniacki then blew through Aliaksandra Sasnovich (6-3, 6-4) and No. 18 Andrea Petkovic (6-3, 6-2).
A date in the fourth round with No. 5 Maria Sharapova was where many were ready to write her off, but Wozniacki was able to pull through, 6-4, 2-6, 6-2, mostly thanks to superb defensive play. Three was no hangover, either, as a dismantling of No. 13 Sara Errani followed in the semifinals (6-0, 6-1).
Friday, Wozniacki kept that momentum alive once more in a two-set win over Peng Shuai, who was forced to retire due to cramping. After the match, the former world No. 1 took to Twitter:
While she seemed to struggle early, Wozniacki kept pace and eventually overtook her adversary on the way to shooting five aces and a perfect mark on break points.
Interestingly enough, this steak of great form from Wozniacki is nothing new. She is 19-3 since Wimbledon and has a somewhat new, aggressive style that is giving the opposition fits. Of course, it would be a major issue to not point out that two of those three losses came at the hands of Williams.
So something has to give, right?
Prediction
Wozniacki can win. Her ability to push Williams to three sets in each of those two losses is testament enough to that, and further confusing the outcome is the fact all of Williams' Grand Slam struggles this year have been of the blindside variety—impossible to see coming.
The thing is, Williams' current form suggests nothing short of a perfect game will take her down at this juncture with win No. 18 in sight. The two friends know each other too well for it to be a lopsided affair, but Williams is clearly the better player.
It is surely tempting to roll with Wozniacki given her career resurgence. But Williams, back against the wall at a tournament she routinely dominates and looking to salvage a miserable season, will eventually pull away.
Prediction: Williams wins, 6-4, 6-7, 6-2
Note: All info courtesy of USOpen.org unless otherwise specified. Stats courtesy of ATPWorldtour.com.
.jpg?w=480 "Colts Jaguars Football")
