US Open – Few predicted the high drama that unfolded on Arthur Ashe in the Serena Williams (1) v fellow American wildcard entrant Bethanie Mattek-Sands. Mattek-Sands came out on court in what could only be described as “on fire” as she seized control of the match and near looked ready to upset history in the making. However, the Serena legacy is nothing without the epic comeback matches. This match on the night, might not be the best one of the many Serena has played but it might be the most important one. Serena took the last 8 games of the match to win it 3-6 7-5 6-0 and move into the Round of 16 on Sunday. “[S]he’s a great closer. She always has been. I think she gains momentum and gets pumped up, pumps herself up, and I think that’s why she’s able to close matches out really well,” said Mattek-Sands after the match.
Mattek-Sands raced out to a 3-0 lead. Serena was missing by a country-mile as errors poured off her racquets. She held serve and broke to get back on serve at 2-3 but Mattek-Sands was relentless. She remained focused and error-free as she broke again for a 4-2 lead and consolidated the break for 5-2. What was most surprising in this opening set was the number of break point chances Serena missed. She had break point chances in nearly all of Mattek-Sands games including the pivotal 8th game when Mattek-Sands was serving for the set. Mattek-Sands did not so much win these crucial points as opposed to Serena gave them away. She was rushing on her shots, hitting wide of the mark and taking up poor court positions in light of the shots she was going for. She was 1/7 on break points in the set whereas Mattek-Sands converted on the two chances that she had. Thus in just 37 minutes, Mattek-Sands was up a set and Serena was a set away from losing. Mattek-Sands had a single unforced error in the set compared to 14 from Serena.
Serena down a set was not usually reason to panic but the problem was that Serena’s game was not improving. She again squandered 5 more break points. Mattek-Sands looked poised for the upset and then in the 8th game, the unseeded American blinked. Serena broke for 5-3 and served for the set. However, it seemed that the pressure of the moment got too much for Serena as she too took this moment to blink and was broken. Mattek-Sands leveled the set at 5-5 and it looked like this was going to be an upset of the 21-time major champion. The crowd was aghast of this possibility. The tension both inside and outside the stadium.
Serena sensing the urgency of the matter responded in her classic manner. She raised her level to “unplayable”. “I knew that I could play better, so with that in the back of my mind — because I made a lot of errors, but I knew, like, this wasn’t the best game, my best game,” Serena said after the match. Mattek-Sands could not keep pace with her compatriot and soon it became clear that the danger of Serena losing was not about to happen on the day. Serena held serve for 6-5 and broke her opponent to take the set 7-5. In the 3rd set, Mattek-Sands became a mere spectator in the match winning only 9 of the 34 points played. Serena bageled her compatriot to take the match 3-6 7-5 6-0 in an hour and 49 minutes. After the match, Mattek-Sands said this of Serena, “[W]hen she’s really confident in her shots. Obviously she starts ripping the ball really hard and timing it well and taking balls on the rise. I think you can feel the pressure.”
