Venus Williams proved extremely gracious in the aftermath of her three-set victory over fellow quarterfinalist Petra Kvitova yesterday. “I was fortunate to win the match,” she said. “It came down to the wire.” Both were, to be sure, understatements. Certainly, it took no small measure of skill, determination, and, yes, luck for her to upend one of the oddsmakers’ favorites heading into the United States Open. At the same time, there can be no discounting the effort she gave in trading punishing groundstrokes with the two-time Wimbledon champion for two hours and 34 minutes. In the end, she needed to stay solid in the tie-break — which she didn’t look capable of forging after her serve was broken early — to prevail.
Had Kvitova won, the US Open would not have lacked for a sentimental story. After all, she, too, was treading a path of redemption; after a home invasion late last year compelled her to go under the knife to repair tendons and nerves in her dominant hand, she hitherto found her return to form stunted by extended convalescence and a seeming lack of confidence. At Flushing Meadows, however, the talent that propelled her to two Grand Slam titles was on full display; prior to meeting Williams, she made short work of reigning All-England queen Garbine Muguruza.
Nonetheless, it was clear from the outset on whose side the 23,000-odd spectators at Arthur Ashe Stadium were on. And the partisan crowd’s sentiments became even more pronounced when the roof had to be closed due to rain in the middle of the second set. No doubt, the support helped Williams during trying moments in the set-to, particularly in the third, when her serve came under pressure, and when she had to claw back from behind and force sudden death. As she noted in her post-mortem, “I have to say I felt every single one of you guys behind me. I didn’t want to let you guys down.”
In the end, Williams did more than enough to win. She scored more points, put more first and second serves in, committed fewer unforced errors, and, at 37, literally covered more ground per point than her opponent 10 years her junior. Up next: a date with Sloane Stevens, also an American and also recovering from surgery. Should she prevail, she will have booked a slot in the final of a third major event in one calendar year for the first time since 2002. And no less than her immediate past victim is cheering her on. When asked if she could still claim two more victories, Kvitova disclosed, “I think she can. I hope so, actually.”
Anthony L. Cuaycong has been writing Courtside since BusinessWorld introduced a Sports section in 1994. He is the Senior Vice-President and General Manager of Basic Energy Corp.
