!88791822 by Pete Bodo
During the last half of the third set today, Serena Williams looked as if having to run for one more Elena Dementieva laser to the forehand corner might cause her to tip over, tongue flapping and thighs (and those are some thighs) twitching. But even if that had happened, you get the feeling that some new, fresh incarnation of Serena would have drifted up like a wraith from a nostril or eardrum, materializing into flesh and blood as it snatched the racket from the turf and took up a position at the baseline with a lusty shout of, "Show me what you got, sucker!"
That's Serena, nominally the "baby" of the Williams family. The more debilitating a match becomes, the more endangered she appears to be, the more likely Serena is to defy the laws of physics and biology and find a way to win. There's only one explanation, and it's para-physical, para-psychological, para-logical and even para-ludicrous. She's a spirit-driven person, and that spirit operates with regal disregard for whatever else is going on in Serena's muscles or lungs. Like the spirit said, Show me what you got. . .
This was a match of high quality, and most of us are going to click and drag it right from the mental inbox into the Great Matches folder. It was also, at 2:50, the longest Wimbledon women's semifinal on record. The final score was 6-7 (4), 7-5, 8-6, and 'Lena was in it all the way. Later, she said, It's not about serve or forehand and backhand, it's about, you know, winning spirit. And she (Serena) has a great fighting spirit. "
That 'Lena wasn't cowed by that spirit (she rightfully pointed out that she had the spirit today as well) was born out by the stats. The official scorecard is awash in "D"s and "A"s (for, respectively, deuce and ad) and 'Lena fought her way to ten break points. She only converted three of those, but the other seven weren't entirely errors of commission (Serena was five of 12 in break point conversions).
Serena had the high heat going today, and clocked scores of aces and unreturned first serves. It isn't like she just served her way out of uncomfortable break-point situations, either. She was an equal opportunity thunder goddess, raining down 37 unreturned first serves (from 70 attempts) and 20 aces, leading Dementieva to remark, with a completely straight face: "You know, I wasn't sure if it's Serena or Andy Roddick on the other side, 125 all the time."
Serena agreed with the analysis, saying, "Yeah, I definitely owe this win to my serve. You know, I lost serve a couple times. But, you know, when it was key and it was time for me to hold serve, I was able to hold serve. You know, I always had a nice couple aces that was really able to clinch on very key points. I thought that I served well, so I was very excited about that."
And those of you who remember Dementieva as player always hunting trouble with her own serve may be surprised to hear that her delivery was more asset than liability: She hit an impressive 24 unreturned first serves (72 attempts), and more unreturned second serves (12 of 34 to Serena's 8 of 48). And if Dementieva's first serve conversion percentage was better (63% to 57 %), Serena's serve, on the whole, was a more menacing and useful tool - although one Dementieva delivery is etched in my memory because it suggested that the idea of redemption is alive and well.
Dementieva nailed that second serve at a key moment in the second set. Serena, who had time and again profitably leaned to the forehand side, looking for the wide serve, did so once again - whereupon Dementieva tagged a 110 mph rocket down the center stripe for an ace. This was the final, delicious fruit of a long, dogged, and often agonizing re-tooling process for the woman once legendary for her service troubles - and I mean long as in Russian long, long as in Tolstoy long. As 'Lena said when asked about the process, "It was a long process, I cannot tell you in a few words right now." Heck with that process; as Serena said: "I've never seen her serve so well in her life. . . you know, I think her second serves were in the upper nineties, sometimes hundreds. To keep that up for three sets is not very easy."
So let's connect the dots: We have a match with two women serving superbly, with great power and placement, and employing the shot to bail them out of trouble, and we end up with an 8-6 in the third epic. This may be all you need to know if you've ever wondered why the women produce so many woeful or simply nonsensical matches. Serena may have had just a shade more fighting spirit today, but both women had the spirit of thunder.
Anyway, that brilliant second serve of Dementieva's enabled her to hold and, a point later, to go up 4-3, with a set in hand. It was crunch time for Serena; was this going to be one of the great Wimbledon upsets, or a match for the ages? In the very next game, perilously close to a break, Serena may have saved her tournament - with an assist from the cold optics of Hawkeye.
With Serena down 30-40, 'Lena worked her out of position, smacked one deep to the forehand corner, and pulled up short during her sprint to cover the line when the ball appeared to be sailing wide or long or both. 'Lena signaled the chair to challenge the call before she even confirmed that the ball had been called in by the linesman. But Hawkeye showed the ball landing on the outside edge of the intersection of the baseline and sideline - the bulk of it touching the baseline in the doubles alley (which in singles is "out" territory) than the safe zone.
Once Hawkeye called Game on! to prevent Dementieva from serving for the match at 5-3, the intensity level rose even higher. Matches of this kind are difficult to describe, because an abundance of brilliant points and high-wire stunts make it impossible to do justice to any of them. Nor is it necessary, given the perils of trying to describe something as fluid and visual as a fantastic rally or a point filled with improbable turns. Let's just say the tennis was superb, unpredictable, and absorbing.
But one point demands mention - the match point 'Lena held with Serena serving at 4-5 in the third. Serena then chose to hit a second serve, which 'Lena put back into play, and the next thing you know, Serena was barreling to the net behind an approach shot to the backhand. Although she had to take the ball on the run, 'Lena had time to choose her shot: down-the-line, cross-court, or lob. She chose door no. 2, and Serena took the pass on the run. Her volley clipped the letcord (barely) and fell for a winner.
"You know, I'm disappointed with the shot," 'Lena would say, "Because I'm very surprised I didn't go down the line. Because, I mean, passing shot, this is my favorite shot to make. And, I mean, maybe it was too quick, so I didn't see she was moving to cover cross-court, you know. She was very close to the net. I mean, down the line or even lob (pained smile) would work. But, I mean, it's a game, you know. It was too quick."
