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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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In addition, Williams is a far wiser player than she was at 18, when she won her first U.S. Open.
It was evident in the way she adapted to Friday's maddening conditions while Safina, 22, let everything annoy her -- the wind, her racket, her failure to keep the ball in the court (she finished with 41 errors to Williams's 21).
"I was behaving like a really spoiled girl on the court today," Safina said.
Williams hardly started the match in championship form. But rather than come unglued as her double faults mounted, she took pace off her serve and added an extra margin of error on her groundstrokes.
From an 0-2 start, she won six of the next seven games.
Safina, meantime, risked more and raged over every mistake, castigating herself and the elements in English and Russian alike.
Williams was even more effective in the second set, playing high-percentage tennis while keeping the pressure on. She charged the net at opportune moments to cut rallies short. She even drilled Safina in the chest when the Russian attempted a volley of her own.
Williams apologized at the net afterward.
"She behaved like a champion," Safina said with admiration. "She was there, and she was fighting with me. I was fighting with everything around except her. I will learn from this."
Earlier Friday, Jankovic came from behind in both sets to defeat Dementieva. Like Williams, the Serb proved the steadier player, committing half the errors, as well as half the winners, as her opponent.
She was helped by Dementieva's notorious weakness, a serve that fails her at critical moments. A two-time Grand Slam finalist, Dementieva had made great strides in the last year, retooling her serve and winning an Olympic gold medal in Beijing.
At the U.S. Open she hadn't lost a set until Friday. But Jankovic was the more dogged fighter, racing around the court to slam balls back until Dementieva committed the error.
That sort of tenacity has earned Jankovic the respect of her peers, Williams included. They have split their two meetings this year, and Williams seemed eager to toss up the first ball again, insisting she had nothing to lose Saturday.
"I'm going against someone that is ranked higher than me," Williams said of the second-ranked Jankovic. "She has a lot of pressure to win her first Grand Slam."
As for herself, Williams seemed certain that Saturday won't be her last opportunity to add to her collection of major titles.
"I've always felt like my game is suited to withstand a long time," Williams said. "I feel like I've just started again."
