Serena Williams claimed an incredible 16th Grand Slam singles title over a brave but tired Maria Sharapova at the French Open last weekend in Paris.
Serena is the sort of sporting personality that many fans love to hate. I consider myself in this group of supporters. She is all smiles when things are going her way but has a dark and horrible temperament bubbling below the surface that I can’t help but think mirrors the real her. I don’t think women athletes have to be particularly feminine or humble to be liked and admired but some consistency in behavior would go a long way. In many ways, I would prefer her better if she was contrary and dislikeable all the time.
Nevertheless, you can’t dispute her claims to being one of the greatest tennis players of all time. Her first title came way back in 1999 and since then she has seen off the likes of her sister Venus, Martina Hingis, Monica Seles, Lindsay Davenport, Jennifer Capriati, Justine Henin, Kim Clijsters, Sharapova and a long list of emerging eastern European talent. Most would still have her behind Margaret Court (24 majors) and Steffi Graf (22 Majors) in the list of all-time greats but you would think that she is now surpassing Martina Navratilova and Chris Evert as clearly the third best the women’s game has ever produced.
The future for Serena is unclear. Age is going to start to become an issue, as is motivation. Her motivation to claw her way back to the top has always been there, but can she keep the fire burning inside her with such a lackluster group of top class opponents? Her durability is truly astounding. Considering she only won one major in three years between 2004 and 2007 and played seven consecutive majors without a title from 2010 to 2012 speaks volumes for her achievements outside of these lean times. Most great players have a block of amazing results over a comparably small time frame.
She is back to her heroics of 2002 to 2003 when she was nearly unbeatable. If Serena wants to add to the 16 Slams she already has in the bank then there is no better time than now. She is playing great tennis and with only Victoria Azarenka and Sharapova providing limited opposition she could rack up many more Slams in the next two to three years. Time will tell, but unless a few youngsters emerge from the pack the critics of the women’s game are going to be heard loud and clear about the age-old question of depth. That shouldn’t deter Williams though who has fought off generations of players to be where she is today.
