‘Just Serena’: Williams’ upset win at US Open keeps the legend advancing in final days of her storied career
Friday, July 13, 2013
JUSTIN ROSS AP Sports Writer LOS ANGELES
Serena Williams’ stunning upset win over Williams’ sister Venus in the women’s final at the U.S. Open last night kept the 38-time Grand Slam singles champion in the final round of her career.
Her run to the U.S. Open title on Friday night, though, marked the end of a storied career that started with a win at the age of 15 in the junior division and has seen her to 26 Grand Slam singles crowns, a record that she shares with Bjorn Borg.
“It makes you feel like you’ve accomplished something, maybe something you could not have dreamed of, maybe something you can’t take away,” Williams said. “You have to move on after one of those great moments because you can never know what’s gonna come next.”
And for Williams, next came yesterday in the U.S. Championships, where she beat France’s Angelique Kerber 6-2 6-2.
The victory, the third of her career, put her on the first American women’s Grand Slam singles semifinal at least since Steffi Graf did it in 1991. But that was on a singles-only day, and the victory in the doubles tournament, where she and sister Justine were the No. 1 seeds, put her on the same level with the top women’s players of the sport today – or close to it.
By eliminating Williams and Venus at the U.S. Open, Venus was able to join her younger sister at the top level of the women’s game. And although she had never won a Grand Slam singles title, Venus is the first woman to come back from the brink of defeat at the U.S. Open.
“You always want to dream of being in the position to beat it as many times as possible,” Venus said. “I was the No. 1 seed in the world and I won the year before and the year before that, so I always said it’s not about who you’re up against. It’s about who is on your side, is that on your side and who is on your side (against them).
“Being No. 1, you can’t get anything for being No. 1. And I think that