Happy birthday Serena, a really happy birthday to the greatest player of the new millennium and perhaps of all time (although Italian Hall-of-Famer Gianni Clerici would say that the GOAT is actually Suzanne Lenglen, La Divine, The Goddess). Yesterday, Serena Williams turned 39 and said, not for the first time, “I never thought I’d find myself still playing at 39. And now I don’t know when I’ll quit. I still enjoy it, and as long as I enjoy it …” It seemed to hear echoing the words spoken so many times by one of her peers, Roger Federer.
Surely, this is the first time Serena celebrates her birthday in Paris. And, just as surely, it is also the first time in many years that, at the beginning of a Grand Slam tournament, she is not considered among the top favourites, despite the absence of the defending champion, Ashleigh Barty, and of the last two winners of the US Open, Naomi Osaka and Bianca Andreescu (who aren’t outstanding clay-courters).
While it is true that clay has never been Williams’ favourite surface – it tones down the otherwise deadly weapon that is her serve – it is also true that many others have had the same issue, like Sampras. Pistol Pete has never been past the semifinals in Paris, which he reached just once (1996). Serena has won at the Stade-Roland Garros three times (2002, 2013, 2015) and was the runner-up in 2016, a semifinalist in 2003, and a quarterfinals another five times. Her three triumphs at the Port d’Auteuil aside, she has won 10 more titles won on the dirt – it’s far from an inconsiderable amount.
However, besides having to point out that Serena hasn’t won the French Open in five years – becoming the oldest winner of the tournament at 34 and a half – in 2020 there seems to be a favourite who is touted as being head and shoulder above the competition, i.e. Simona Halep, and various others, such as Svitolina and Azarenka, who is in William’s quarter of the draw (Vika beat her in New York), plus Muguruza and Kenin in the other half who seem to have the same chances as Serena if not more, especially after witnessing Serena get carried to a decider by almost each of her opponents in Kentucky and at the US Open before she succumbed.
For whom might be interested, you could listen to the reasons why Steve Flink and I said during the draw that it seems highly unlikely that Serena will be able to conquer his fourth Roland Garros and the coveted 24th Major – she is no doubt weighed down by the years and with the handicap of an ultra-heavy surface due to the pressing humidity and Wilson balls that even Nadal struggles to push.
Winning the tournament would allow her to equal Margaret Court’s record and squash the nightmare that haunts her by now from nine failed attempts, including the four Grand Slam finals lost without winning a set after the birth of her child. She’s been training in France, since Monday, at the tennis Academy of her coach Patrick Mouratoglou (close to Nice on the Cote d’Azur), but has not played on clay for a year and a half, since the third round of Roland Garros in May 2019, when she lost to Sofia Kenin (her earliest defeat at a Grand Slam since 2014). For any other player, reaching four Grand Slam finals while losing only in the semifinals at the last US Open would have been a dream result. But not for her. She’s won 23 Grand Slams out of the 75 she’s played in, so her goals are accordingly set.
“Should a semifinal be a good result for me? Absolutely not! I find myself in a position in my career where I cannot be satisfied! I don’t want to sit here and say, ‘Oh, I’m happy! No, because I’m not!’ Serena will face Kristie Ahn in the first round, the American who particularly distinguished herself in the Covid-19 season for her ability to engage on social media. “I haven’t played any tournament in preparation for this, which is unusual for me – said Serena yesterday in Paris under a seemingly recently created cascade of blond curls – but this was a very unusual, unique year. I tried to recover as much as possible with Patrick after the ankle issue I suffered in New York. Am I 100% in physical condition now? No, but I’m healthy enough to try. I wouldn’t play if I didn’t think I could be competitive. I don’t know any athletes who don’t compete if they are not 100%. If I play well, I can still beat anyone and the more I play, the better I should be able to play.”
In short, Serena’s hunt continues, even though she has never played in the Parisian cold. “Between California and Florida, and in the various tournaments, it’s never happened to me. I hate the cold; I’ve seen snowing for the first time halfway through my life!” The weather, which should feature constant showers, will not be her ally… unless she gets to perform most of the time under the roof of the Philippe Chatrier stadium (albeit with a leaking roof…), and that could be a critical advantage.
Article translated by Andrea Ferrero; edited by Tommaso Villa
