Serena and Roger: Wimbledon Champs Fail To Acheive Goals at The Open

Dinara Safina, Elena Dementieva, Venus Williams, Jelena Jankovic, Victoria Azarenka, Svetlana Kuznetsova: All had fallen out of the U.S. Open before Serena Williams.

This list is compiled of players who, on their good days, have a chance at defeating Serena when she is playing near her best.

As of Saturday night, add Kim Clijsters' name to this lethal lineup of foes.

When Serena looked to be the clear favorite to repeat at the Open, Clijsters came along. On Saturday night in the U.S. Open semifinals, Clijsters repeatedly hit deep ground strokes, forcing Serena to play more balls, and less aggressively then even she is used to.

Add consistently easy service games near the end of the match and playing great defense as the Belgium is noted, and it equals a win against a great player.

I will note that the American was not playing at her best, beating herself if you will, and constantly over-hitting balls. It was kind of awkward to see Serena struggle so mightily in the semifinal of a major, seeing as how she still holds three of the last five major titles.

Clijsters, however, simply out-played her opponent in every aspect of the game, especially doing better than Serena at keeping her composure. I really don't think that I have to go into the Serena versus line judge incident that took place at the end of the match.

Serena has since apologized for the unsportsmanlike conduct; however, she will never be able to play that point again. Who knows, Serena may have come back from match point down to win the match.

(Does anyone remember the Serena versus Venus Quarterfinal from last year's U.S. Open in which Venus had 10 set points in the match and didn't capitalize on one?)

Still, Serena had one thing in mind when coming to New York: win her 12th Major title and repeat as the U.S. Open Champion. She failed in that goal, and she failed herself.

It's never a good thing to yell at an official, but to watch the replay of Serena at the end of the match makes any fan of the sport cringe.

Serena is an outstanding women's tennis player, but she must keep all of her composure and focus on the match itself, not on a bad call here and there or an official. I would continue to watch her play this season to see how she performs after winning Wimbledon but failing to repeat at the Open.

One failed goal can crush a person's hopes and dreams, but when it comes to Serena Williams, expect the unexpected.

When Roger Federer arrived at the 2009 U.S. Open, he had gone through one of the most exciting and crazy summers of his life. From winning the Wimbledon title to having twin kids, Federer has become a changed man.

Would it be for the better or the worse was the real question everyone was asking.

After winning his record 15th Grand Slam at Wimbledon, many people believed that Roger would no longer be hungry to win titles and instead play with no pressure whatsoever.

His fans longed for him to achieve his goal of a record 15th Grand Slam title and he succeeded. Why not he go after the U.S. Open?

Playing freely and with the confidence he lacked when this season began, Federer fought his way to a semifinal showdown with Novak Djokovic.

Outstanding serving and consistent ground strokes led to a Federer three-set victory and a Finals showdown with Juan Martin del Potro.

Del Potro had just recently won the match of his career, a 6-2, 6-2, 6-2 win over newly appointed World-No. 2 Rafael Nadal, and was ready for a rematch of the French Open semifinals in which del Potro was up two sets to one against Federer and ended up losing the match in five.

The Finals began, and Federer was dialed in. Winning the first set 6-3 and owning a 3-1 advantage in the second, it seemed as if Roger would run away with the title. Del Potro, however, fought back to win the second set in a tiebreak, 7-5.

Going into the third set, it was unclear of who had the advantage. Federer ended up winning the third set, 6-4, after del Potro was up a break and lost his composure.

Then came the fourth set.

Tied at 5-5 and Federer serving, it seemed as if the match was his for the taking. Up 40-0 of his serve, Roger loosened up a bit and went for some difficult shots. Del Potro capitalized on those miscues, evening the game at Deuce. After three break points for del Potro, Federer eventually held serve and forced del Potro to serve to stay in the match.

Del Potro held at love and forced a fourth-set tiebreak, which he won 7-4, forcing a deciding fifth set.

Going into the fifth, it seemed Federer would win because of his experience. However, it was del Potro who pulled off the stunning upset by winning the fifth, 6-2.

Federer was denied a sixth-straight U.S. Open title, and again faltered on the grandest of stages for the second time this season (Australian Open). Although it was a great showing for Federer, it is still a failed goal in my books.

He had won the title five years in a row and was going for a record sixth in the States. He was at the top of his game going into the match and was the clear favorite against the young Argentinean.

I wouldn't look at this match and say that Roger Federer played horribly, because he didn't. He just didn't come up with all of the important shots when he needed them. I still believe that Federer has had an outstanding 2009, and I would still look for more to come, but this loss will hurt for some time.

Serena Williams and Roger Federer: Both favorites coming into the tournament, both winners at Wimbledon, and both leaving with failed goals.