In Total Control, S. Williams Drives Into U.S. Open Final
Serena Williams, who ousted Dinara Safina, will play Jelena Jankovic for the U.S. Open title and the world's No. 1 ranking.
(By Nick Laham -- Getty Images)
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Saturday, September 6, 2008
FLUSHING MEADOWS, N.Y., Sept. 5 -- Since she stormed into the elite ranks of her sport in 1999, Serena Williams has shattered conventional notions of what is possible in women's tennis by brandishing the most punishing groundstrokes, the most defiant fighting spirit and the most daring fashions.
Friday at the U.S. Open, however, Williams achieved her latest triumph with restraint, reining in her vaunted power to steamroll past Dinara Safina, 6-3, 6-2, on a day in which gusting winds made high-risk tennis a foolish proposition.
With the victory, Williams advanced to her first U.S. Open final since 2002, when she won the coveted title a second time by defeating her elder sister Venus.
Having spoiled Venus's title hopes again in this year's quarterfinals, Serena now confronts one final hurdle: Serbia's Jelena Jankovic, who advanced to her first major final with a 6-4, 6-4 defeat of Russia's Elena Dementieva earlier Friday.
Neither Serena Williams nor Jankovic needs to search for motivation on Saturday. Serena, 26, chafed bitterly over her straight-set loss to Venus in this year's Wimbledon final, irked that the countless hours invested in regaining her fitness had amounted to nothing.
With a victory Saturday, Serena would claim the ninth major title of her career (two more than Venus) and her first since January 2007.
For Jankovic, arguably the hardest-working woman in the game, a victory would fulfill a life's dream. Just 23, she has amassed a career's worth of injuries in recent years, pushing herself up the world rankings by entering tournament after tournament with precious few weeks off.
But there is an extra reward in store. Whoever wins will assume the No. 1 ranking.
Regardless of the outcome, Serena Williams has achieved a remarkable resurgence this year. After bumping Venus from the world's No. 1 ranking in 2002, she battled injury and apparent indifference in the years that followed, tumbling to an all-but-irrelevant 140th in 2006.
Should Williams hoist her third U.S. Open trophy this weekend, she would reclaim her No. 1 ranking for the first time since August 2003.
Williams credited the turnaround to a newfound commitment, alluding to her family's encouragement to rededicate herself to the sport.
"I've just been way more consistent, playing a lot more and just putting in the effort," she said. "I'm here to stay."
