Serena sails to sixteenth slam in Paris

Serena Williams won her second Roland Garros title and her sixteenth Major in Paris today. The American not only capped off what had been an all consuming clay season but also further stamped her dominance on rival Maria Sharapova. And in conquering her demons at Roland Garros in such devastating fashion, Serena went some way to answering questions about her potential status as the greatest player of all time.

At the start of the match, the Russian looked like she had it in her to do something about her own demons: that nine year dominance her rival has over her. Coming back from 0-40 in the first game to hold serve, Sharapova then broke and held to 40-15 in an eighteen minute opening streak which delighted the crowd, keen not to have paid through the nose to witness through their fingers yet another thrashing. Serving into Serena’s body, hitting wide to her forehand and down the middle, the Russian could not have executed better and her performance was rapturously received.

However demons in the deadly shape of Serena are hard to defeat unless one’s weapons are at their sharpest and the Sharapova serve, the weapon she would need to be at its best if she were to slay Serena, did not hold up. Sharapova failed to get in enough first serves and Serena took advantage, playing some sharp returns to break for 2-1. With the match back on serve, Serena then broke again with a return winner to lead 3-2 and held serve for 4-2. Sharapova though, desirous to defend her title, kept hitting wide to the Serena forehand and earned the errors to break back for 3-4 before holding for 4-4.

This encouraging resistance from Sharapova was, despite the crowd’s support, short-lived. For not even the will of 15,000 people and Sharapova was enough to prevent Serena from achieving her goal through the execution of her best game; a game improved and driven by her will, a game too much for the Russian to overcome on a couple of crucial fronts. First, the Sharapova serve was just not good enough when up against Serena’s return, one of the best in the business. Secondly, the Sharapova ground game was not up to the task of challenging Williams’, its predictable nature feeding the William’s strengths, only too evident on break point at 4-4 as Serena took on a high bouncing flat ball into her strike zone and hit an angled forehand winner to lead 5-4 and serve for the first set. She did it with the conviction one would expect from the greatest women’s server of all time.

A set to the good, Serena just got better. Her return piled pressure on Sharapova and at 1-1 Serena got an early and ominous break. Serena’s own serving made it more so, her service games as simply won as her serves were struck. And while Sharapova worked hard to win her own service games, she never looked likely to get the break back. At 5-4, Serena Williams served for only her second Roland Garros title. Two aces brought her to 30-15. A serve out wide and a backhand winner off a short return and she had two championship points. Fittingly, for a player of her serving ability, Serena Williams sealed her sixteenth Major title with a 198 kmph ace.

The world number one spun around and fell onto her knees. She shook her fists and roared at the skies. After her disastrous exit in the first round last year, Serena Williams had re-invented herself; no longer the greatest could-have-been player, she turned herself into a contender for the title of greatest player ever as she won three of the last four Majors to bring her haul to sixteen.

While the jury is still out on whether or not she is the greatest of all time, her celebrations were worthy of her coming a step closer. Not only had this victory achieved that though, she had also exorcised demons, demons that drove her to a title that had proven so elusive and whose swirling around her had raised questions as to her ability. Having defeated those demons in such convincing style, one wonders just how high she will climb up the Major titles list, the last bastion of the Greatest ever argument, the list that if she can sit atop all arguments will be laid to rest as she takes her place where so many believe she belongs.

The question is: does she believe? Perhaps that is the last demon; the one we now wait to see defeated.