Serena Williams Storms Back to Win Sony Ericsson Open Title
Posted by Aaress Lawless on Mar 31, 2007 | Print
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She had a rough start, but Serena Williams has won her fourth Sony Ericsson Open title after a thrilling 0-6, 7-5, 6-4 win over world number one Justine Henin in Miami, Florida.
The last time a player won the title at a tournament after losing the first set 0-6 was Elena Dementieva at the 2004 Gaz de France Stars over Elena Bovina.
Headed into the match, I knew that one of the biggest keys for a Williams victory was her ability to start aggressively and serve well. Unfortunately, Serena started tentatively and it resulted in Justine getting the early break. Justine continued to take advantage of Serena’s inferior movement and kept working her around the court.
Serena held two game points at love-4 in hopes of finally getting on the scoreboard, but her normally dependable serve continued to falter and Justine served out the first set 6-0 after just twenty-nine minutes of match play.
Justine has never beaten Serena on a hard court, but today she was able to turn the first set of the Sony Ericsson Open final into a classic example of a brilliant clay court match. She kept Serena on the run, patiently set up her shots, and played some of her finest tennis.
Serena refused to call down her coach for a few quick moments of on-court coaching during the break and after losing 0-6 in the opening set, it looked as if she could have used a few words of advice from her coach.
On the Baseline’s Stephanie Stepp had a chance to talk to Serena after the match about her decision to forego calling her coach onto the court.
“Like I said, I only call out the coach if I see my opponents call out their coach,” said Serena. “At that point I noticed she didn’t call hers out, so it was like, okay, there was no unfair advantage. Like I said, I’m all about competing; I don’t necessarily like the coaches to come on court. That’s the beauty of the game is to figure it out by yourself. You know, you’re down 60, you’re down two matchpoints and you’re able to come back. And I was able to do it on my own, not by calling out my coach. That’s what tennis to me is all about. It’s about you versus the other player, nothing else.”
Serena finally had a chance to get on the scoreboard with a break of serve to level the second set at 1-all, and then after being pushed to deuce five times by Justine, Serena managed to hold her serve for the first time in the match.
She continued to step up the level of her play toward the end of the second set, but Justine grabbed a big break at 4-all and quickly grabbed two championship points. Serena saved both points and fought back to force a third set 7-5.
Justine tried to battle back in the third set, but Serena grabbed her sixth break of the match and then saved three break points to win the match on her serve for a 0-6, 7-5, 6-4 victory.
Henin put up a valiant fight and took quite a beating at the hands of Serena, especially during the third set. She had a couple of bad tumbles during the match, but is hopeful that she will not have any lasting injuries.
“Well, I feel okay, said Justine to Stephanie. “I just fell down twice in the match, and my knee’s hurt a little bit now. But it’s okay.”
Justine went on to say in her press conference that she is still struggling with her breathing problems and has already withdrawn from Charleston’s Family Circle Cup. She is now scheduled to play her next tournament on clay at Warsaw.
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anything but love | Mar 31, 2007 | Reply
ouch…Justine was so close, i almost logged on here after the first set (and up a break in the second) and stated to claim my perdicitions were coming true, LOL. But as is often the case Serena time and again rises to the occasion. The bigger the moment, the better Serena seems to play.
The fans really won becuase the event lived up to it’s expectations.
Justine, apparently has fond memories of watching the French open with her Mom as a child. although she’s from Belgium, Justine plays the French like it’s her home court. Serena defended her home court there in Miami so this adds nicely to the drama going into Roland Garros.
My perdiction? My girl Justine wil avenge this loss in the French.
P.S even when Serena couldn’t rely on one of her main weapons, her powerful serve, Serena was able to shift gears after the first set. The game turned when Serena started to move her feet and also come to net. For a player often labeled as a “Power” player Serena displayed excellent defensive skills, and even a delicate touch at the net. jamming up Justine with a final shot that cleanly struck the line, Serena the tactician showed her ball placement skills that make her one of tennis’ brightest stars.
Ryan | Apr 2, 2007 | Reply
Justine had it tough. I thought she done good considering that the Miami tournament has been associated in the back of her mind all these years with the final days of her mother with cancer. I found alot of the articles trying to be witty talking about Justine’s match blues with sentences like “March has no been king to Henin” really in poor taste. Geez, her mother died in March, it’s more than unkind, it’s shattering to a teenager.
Anyway- it was good for her to make the final. I’ll cut Henin slack on the lost MP’s because of her mom’s anniversary March date, and coming into Serena turf full gonzo with that 6-0 scoreline.
Hope she’s ok though, did you guys notice her face? She had cold sores, and looked rather ill. Hope all will be well, and we can see more from her and Serena at Berlin.