Serena Williams inches closer to greatest player of all time title
Williams' French renaissance is a sign of more to come as no one on women's circuit comes close to even matching her on the court
Great? Undoubtedly. Serena Williams' latest grand slam title, at the French Open, confirmed what tennis already knew. But greatest? That is still too early to say.
The new French Open champion has the most fearsome serve yet seen in women's tennis. The ace on the last point of Williams' 6-4, 6-4 victory in the final zipped past Maria Sharapova at 198km/h, more than fast enough to have earned a nasty speeding ticket had it been a car on the highway that runs by Roland Garros.
Digesting the disappointment of her 13th straight loss to Williams since 2004, Sharapova grimly noted that David Ferrer might not serve that hard when he plays Rafael Nadal in the men's final.
And who in the pantheon of stars in women's tennis has hit the ball more ferociously than Williams? Sharapova did as well as could be expected in defending herself against the flurry of forehands and backhands that spring off the racquet that Williams wields like an axe.
The intimidation starts even before the first ball is played, in the coin toss. Facing Sharapova across the net, Williams looked as though she might cleave open the Russian's famously blonde head, waving her racquet up and down in a chopping motion, practising her service motion.
Once hostilities started, Sharapova lasted exactly one hour longer than Williams' hapless semi-final opponent, Sara Errani, who was swatted aside 6-0, 6-1 in 46 minutes. In short, the Russian made a contest, but not an epic of this match. "She's doing what she's always done extremely well, but she's just doing it on a much more consistent level," Sharapova said. "I know that's a pretty broad answer, but that says a lot."