Serena Williams Must Start Planning Exit Strategy After Australian Open Upset
I don't want to see Serena Williams become Peyton Manning or Kobe Bryant. It's a sad thing to see the greatest of the great break down and hang around too long. They mean too much to us at their best.
We're not there yet with Williams. This isn't her last rodeo, to use Manning's words. But she is 34, and Saturday she lost the Australian Open final to Angie Kerber 6-4, 3-6, 6-4. It wasn't about an off day or nerves or her serve letting her down, as ESPN's announcers politely said.
Serena didn't have a bad day. She had a 34-year-old day. She...could...not...move...her...feet. And Kerber was blazing speed. That was the difference in the match.
.jpg?w=256 "Colts Jaguars Football")
It was the first time Serena looked old, slow. It's inevitable. But this moment was significant because it marked the day the arrow turned on Serena: It's now pointing down.
"You are really an inspiration for so many people, so many young tennis players," Kerber said, turning toward Williams during her post-match speech to the crowd broadcast by ESPN. "You are really (an) unbelievably great person, so congratulations for everything you did already."
This isn't a goodbye to Williams. She's still the best player in the world, still ranked No. 1. And while she had hoped to win her 22nd major Saturday and tie Steffi Graf's modern-day record, she will catch Graf soon enough. She still has that to play for.
But she has nothing left to prove. And she might want to start thinking about what it is she wants to accomplish after she catches Graf—and why. She should start thinking about an exit strategy.
We're getting such a lesson watching Bryant and also Manning. Yes, Manning might get another Super Bowl ring when Denver plays Carolina next Sunday. But that's a team game, and if the Broncos win, it's going to be because of their defense. Or who knows, maybe Manning pulls out one last great game.
But there's no hiding in tennis. You're standing out there on the court by yourself. You are your own defense, your own offensive line, your own bench, your own play-caller. And you can't afford to lose a step; just ask Rafael Nadal, who's only 29.
Manning is 39. Bryant is 37. Serena will turn 35 in September.
Things look so different now from how they looked just six months ago when Williams was on the verge of winning the Grand Slam—all four majors in the same year. But then in the U.S. Open semifinal, she lost to journeywoman Roberta Vinci, who didn't have the weapons to win. She just didn't miss.
Williams couldn't get control of that match and was broken down mentally. It was understandable with so much pressure and buildup over the chance to win the Slam for the first time. It's about the only thing she hasn't done.
But in tennis, the legs really aren't the first thing to go. The nerve is. And for most of her career, Williams has been a fierce closer.
Now, Kerber is no journeywoman. Not anymore, anyway. She's 28 and has a history of a weak serve and on-court mental weakness. She has worked hard on both. And she is just so fast. With this win, her first major title, she will move up to No. 2 in the world.
The difference in her movement versus Williams' was stark. Williams would power the ball into open space on the court, and Kerber would run it down and make Williams hit more and more shots, just like Vinci did at the U.S. Open. Williams got more and more tentative and nervous.
Kerber won two big points on drop shots that might have bounced 10 times before Williams would have gotten to them. And when Williams came to the net, Kerber hit low line drives crosscourt. Williams had to know where Kerber was going with those shots, but she still could not get her feet moving toward the ball. Williams couldn't win those points at the net, where it's all about footwork.
Afterward, Williams was about as gracious as anyone has ever been. Instead of shaking Kerber's hand at the net, she walked to the other side of the court, smiling, and hugged her. She told her to enjoy the moment.
Williams is more at peace with the tennis world than we've ever seen her. In March, she went back to Indian Wells, a tournament she had boycotted for years after the crowd booed her throughout an entire match and someone made racist, threatening remarks to her dad in the stands. And she told ESPN before the match that "I'm trying to get rid of the drama in my life."
Things are running smoothly for her, and she has been so great for so long that she actually is the establishment now. It has been such an incredible run for a girl from Compton.
But while things are surely more comfortable for her, I'm not sure that's the best thing for her tennis. Williams thrives on criticism and controversy.
Other than Graf's record, there really aren't any more hurdles for Williams. Even the top of the tour has dropped off to the point where you wonder how much incentive she has to beat some of these women.
"You deserved it," she told Kerber in her on-court interview. "You played the best in the tournament. Let me be the first to congratulate you."
Kerber, talking with ESPN, said she had goosebumps during the match and that she couldn't believe her family and friends were at home watching her on TV. Serena smiled and seemed genuinely happy for her. It was nice. It was sweet. But the Serena we know and love doesn't lose to nice and sweet.
She crushes them.
Greg Couch covers tennis for Bleacher Report. Follow him @gregcouch.
.jpg?w=480 "Colts Jaguars Football")
