Williams Powers to Title at U.S. Open
Win Over Jankovic Ensures No. 1 Rank

By Liz Clarke
Washington Post Staff Writer
Monday, September 8, 2008

FLUSHING MEADOWS, N.Y., Sept. 7 -- With a daunting display of power, precision and grit, Serena Williams won her third U.S. Open on Sunday and regained the No. 1 ranking more than five years after she last held it.

And with the achievement, defeating Serbia's Jelena Jankovic, 6-4, 7-5, she flung her racket in the air and shrieked, jumping up and down more than a half-dozen times before sprinting courtside for an embrace from her father, who years ago fashioned champions from his two younger daughters.

For all but two stretches in the 2-hour 4-minute final, which had been postponed one day by Tropical Storm Hanna, Williams overwhelmed Jankovic, arguably the best defensive player in the women's game.

But it's doubtful that any woman (except perhaps Williams's elder sister, Venus, who looked on from the stands at Arthur Ashe Stadium with the sisters' mother, Oracene Price) could have beaten Serena on this night or at any point in this tournament.

Williams stormed to the title, the ninth major of her career, without losing a set.

"I'm so excited," she said afterward. "I wasn't even going for number one, and it's just like an added bonus."

The match offered a delicious contrast of strengths, tactics and style.

Williams, 26, in a candy-apple red dress, dictated tempo with a booming serve and groundstrokes.

Jankovic, 23, in lemon-chiffon yellow, played the human backboard, racing around the court to retrieve every ball she could. It was exhausting work, with Jankovic lunging and skidding from one sideline to the other.

She shoveled some near-winners back across the net. Others eluded her reach, and Jankovic ended up doing the splits instead or doubling over and gasping for air. More than once she erupted in laughter over the gulf between the power Williams generated and her own.

"She has all these strengths," Jankovic said of Williams. "She's a great athlete. If you want to beat her, you need to be even a little level above her best."

That said, Jankovic had four opportunities to force a third set, but came up short each time.

Credit Williams, who played the critical points better.

"I gave her a lot of gifts when it was crucial," Jankovic said. "So many chances to win that second set, and I let my chances go away. I cannot turn back the time. I wish I could."

Williams won the opening point of the match by blasting a backhand with such force that it dislodged one of her gold hoop earrings.

But Williams did far more than outmuscle the Serb. She played shrewd tennis, reeling off a winning volley, overhead and serve in succession when she faced three break points in the second set.

She also kept her unforced errors (39) from undercutting her outright winners (44), which had been her undoing earlier in her career.

The victory was Williams's first major title since January 2007, and completed a remarkable resurgence of a once-brilliant career that had slipped to relative obscurity because of illness and injury.

But Williams, who held the No. 1 ranking from July 2002 to August 2003, recommitted herself to tennis at the end of last year, encouraged by family and friends who insisted she had not accomplished all she could or should have.

Less than a decade ago, it seemed that Venus and Serena would be perennial U.S. Open finalists. They took turns hoisting the trophy from 1999 to 2002. In response, tournament officials moved the women's final to Saturday night for prime-time network exposure.

But the Williamses tumbled from the rankings thereafter, and the parade of Belgians and Russians that succeeded them drew only a fraction of the TV audience the sisters had commanded.

Any chance of an all-Williams final was spoiled by this year's draw, which pitted the sisters against each other in the quarterfinals. In beating Venus in straight sets, Serena, it turned out, dispatched of her most difficult opponent she would face.

Jankovic, playing in her first major final, started impressively, breaking Williams in the third game to take a 2-1 lead. But all that did was rouse Williams's competitive fire. She charged back to win five of the next seven games and, with it, the opening set.

Still, Jankovic refused to wilt. She got an early break in the second set and had four chances to force a third -- when Williams served at 3-5 and again when Jankovic served at 5-4.

They were missed opportunities, all. But the Serb smiled through her post-match interview nonetheless, laughing at how odd it was to look up at key points and see her face, as big as a New York City billboard, on the courtside JumboTron. With a $740,000 second-place check, she declared herself rich and vowed to go shopping Monday.

And next year, she said, she would return a better player.

"I still haven't reached my limits," Jankovic said. "So this is a good thing."