TENNIS US OPEN – The 2013 women’s singles finalists were both in action yesterday but they have completely different paths to the 2nd round. Serena Williams (1) easily triumphed over Taylor Townsend 6-3 6-1 whereas Victoria Azarenka (16) had to battle hard to get past Misaki Doi 6-7 6-4 6-1. From New York, Cordell Hackshaw
For the past 3 years at the US Open, Serena Williams (1) and Victoria Azarenka (16) have meet at some stage in the tournament, most notably in the last two finals with Williams winning all the encounters. However, it seems as though this year, their usual US Open meeting might not take place. Azarenka is struggling to get herself back into major contention shape, battling injuries for much of the season. Williams on the other hand, is looking poised to make her 4th straight final here if she keeps up this great form.
Williams took on young American Taylor Townsend in the last match on the main court, Arthur Ashe. This match of course has special significance besides the fact they represent the current and future generations of American tennis. Williams and Townsend, both African Americans, are continuing the legacy of the great Althea Gibson, the first black athlete to win a major tennis tournament. The first day of the Open this year incidentally would have been Gibson’s 87th birthday were she alive today. Gibson won two US Open titles (pre-Open era) in an era when black athletes were not afforded the same opportunities as they are now. Gibson had to leave the tour in 1958 after winning 11 major titles in an effort to seek out more profitable ventures.
Today, near 60 years later, there are numerous black athletes on the circuit not only in the US but in Europe who are making a very decent living playing professional tennis. Even more poignant about this match is the fact that Williams and Townsend played on Arthur Ashe stadium, so named after another African American barrier breaker in the world of tennis.
Nonetheless, regarding the match between the two, Williams was most impressive. She won in straight sets 6-3 6-1 in less than an hour. This was Townsend’s US Open debut but she handled the moment surprising well. “It was just a lot of different emotions and feelings that were coming. It was hard to deal with … I was playing against one of my tennis idols, someone I’ve been watching for years and years. Playing in my home, the last slam of the year in front of an American crowd.” Williams was simply stellar on her serving. She dropped only 5 points on serve with 16 winners and 8 errors. The top seed is set to play another American Vania King in the 2nd round.
Williams said of the matchup, “She gets a lot of balls back. She likes to hit lots of rallies. She’s another American. So it’s a shame that Americans have to keep playing each other. But, hey, at least an American can go to the third round.”
Azarenka’s matchup against Misaki Doi was a battle. The former number 1 player simply looked uncomfortable against her opponent. This time last year, Azarenka would have made quick work of Doi in under an hour but this year, she was on court for near 3 hours. In the 1st set, Azarenka could not put away Doi who kept getting the ball back into play. The diminutive Japanese player was pulling off some big shots particularly on her forehand wing. The lefty swing was causing Azarenka a lot of problems. This only added to the serving issues Azarenka was having on the day. She double faulted 11 times for the match, 3 of which came in the crucial opening set tiebreak allowing Doi to take it 7-63.
In the 2nd set, Azarenka got the early break for 4-2 but her serving woos continued as she was unable to consolidate the break. Doi broke back for 3-4 but she too could not hold serve as Azarenka lead 5-3. Serving for the set, Azarenka was broken again but it would not matter as Doi was unable to level the set at 5-5 and Azarenka took it 6-4. It was clear that this 2nd set meant a lot to the Belarusian as she screamed out “Come On!” in full battle cry. The 3rd set saw a different Azarenka on court as she lifted her game to level that got her to the final stage of this tournament two years in a row. She closed it out 6-1.
After the match, Azarenka said, “In any match you play, you got 50/50 chances. No matter how much of a favorite you are or somebody else is, you still got to go and win … [Y]ou got to fight hard, and that’s it. Anything can happen. So to have respect to my opponent, I definitely had that.” Azarenka had 47 errors for the match to 36 winners. The only reason why these errors did not hurt her as badly is because Doi made 49 errors to 30 winners. Azarenka will next play American Christina McHale for a place in the 3rd round.
