Advertisement
Advertisement
Wimbledon 2015
Get more with myNEWS
A personalised news feed of stories that matter to you
Learn more
Serena Williams screams in delight after winning a point against Britain's Heather Watson during their third-round match at Wimbledon. Photo: AFP

Serena Williams comes back from brink to deny Heather Watson a famous victory

Pushed to the absolute limit, world number one again finds a way to win

NYT

Twice, Serena Williams stood merely two points from a loss at Wimbledon against a British opponent buoyed by a roaring, flag-waving Centre Court crowd.

Twice, Williams was oh-so-close to the end of her bid for a fourth consecutive major title – and for the third leg of a calendar-year grand slam.

She played unbelievable and should have won the match. She could get beyond the top 20... She should set her sights higher as she can definitely do better
Serena Williams, talking about Heather Watson 

And twice, pushed to the precipice, Williams regrouped, resisted and wound up winning, as she so often does.

Stomping her foot after misses, alternately screaming in delight or despair, even wagging her finger at fans who booed her, the No. 1-seed overcame a surprisingly staunch challenge from 59th-ranked Heather Watson and emerged with a 6-2, 4-6, 7-5 victory in the third round on Friday.

“I honestly didn’t think I was going to win,” said Williams, who trailed 3-0 and 5-4 in the final set. “How I pulled through, I really don’t know.”

Fans feel the agony for Heather Watson as the match slips away. Photo: AP
Her 24th victory in a row at grand slam tournaments sets up a showdown on Monday against another five-time Wimbledon champion, her older sister Venus.

“We’ve been facing each other a long time,” said the 16th-seeded Venus, who eliminated 82nd-ranked Aleksandra Krunic of Serbia 6-3, 6-2.

This will be the 26th all-Williams match-up, and first at a major since Serena beat Venus in the 2009 Wimbledon final. “It’s unfortunate that it’s so soon,” Serena said.

“She just did everything so well. I wasn’t able to keep up. You know, sometimes you just don’t have your day,” said Williams, who lost in the third round at Wimbledon last year.

“I thought maybe today just wasn’t my day.”

Heather Watson applauds the fans as she leaves the court with Serena Williams. Photo: AFP
It sure looked that way when Watson took six straight games to go up two breaks in the third set. Then came an epic, 18-point game that began Williams’ comeback. Watson twice was a point from leading 4-0, but she looked a bit tight, shanking a forehand, then pushing a forehand wide to get broken.

Still, she broke Williams at love for a 5-4 edge, moving within a game of by far the biggest victory of her career.

At the ensuing changeover, Union Jacks of various sizes flapped in the swirling wind while chants of “Heather!” reverberated through the nearly century-old arena. When play resumed, yells came during points, and Williams complained to the chair umpire, drawing jeers.

“It was really intense today,” Williams said. “I’ve never heard boos here.”

Serena Williams tees off from inside the baseline. Photo: AP
At deuce, potentially two points from the end, Williams produced a forehand winner. Moments later, again at deuce, again two points from defeat, Williams conjured up another big forehand.

“When she needs to hit the line or needs to hit a winner, she’ll just do it,” Watson said, “and that’s what she did.”

That began a match-closing run of three consecutive games for Williams, who held at love for a 6-5 lead with four unreturned serves.

“I don’t know where she found this strength today to win it,” said Williams’ coach, Patrick Mouratoglou, “because she was so far mentally at a certain point.”

Williams broke Watson to finish things, yet even that didn’t come easily. Williams needed three match points, cashing in the last with a backhand return that forced a miss by Watson.

“She couldn’t play better,” Mouratoglou said about Watson. “She played the perfect match.”

At the moment, even that is apparently not enough to beat Williams.

Now her older sister will give it a try.

 

Post