The numbers are similar — even if the reverence for their respective dominance is not.
Tiger Woods is known as perhaps the most dominant athlete to play any sport.
Serena Williams?
Williams, with 72 career wins and 23 Grand Slam titles, gets her due, but it’s not nearly as universal as that given to Woods for his 14 golf major championships and 79 career victories. And that’s a bit of a shame considering Williams’ dominant run has been one of more sustained excellence than that of Woods — or anyone else in any sport, for that matter.
Williams’ 6-3, 6-0 rout of Anastasija Sevastova in the first of the two U.S. Open semifinal matches Thursday night at Arthur Ashe Stadium leaves her one win away from capturing her 24th Grand Slam title to tie Margaret Court’s all-time singles record. And that doesn’t include the 14 career Grand Slam doubles titles she’s won.
Incredibly, this is Williams’ second Grand Slam final since she began her comeback from maternity leave in March.
“Honestly, it is remarkable,’’ she said. “I couldn’t have predicted this at all.’’
When the lopsided match was over and Williams was back in a U.S. Open final for the ninth time in her career and the first time since 2014, she took a moment to herself on the court and looked briefly overcome with emotion.
“I did get a little emotional out there because last year I was literally fighting for my life in the hospital,’’ Williams said, referring to the dangerous blood-clot complications she endured during childbirth. “To come from that — in the hospital bed not being able to move and walk and do anything — [to] now only a year later … this is the beginning.
“I’m not there yet. This is just the beginning of my return. I’m still on the way up.’’
That can’t be good news to any of Williams’ upcoming opponents, beginning with 20-year-old Naomi Osaka, who defeated Madison Keys in Thursday’s second semifinal to earn a date in Saturday’s final against Williams.
Williams lost to Osaka 6-3, 6-2 in the Miami Open in March when, Williams said, “I was breast-feeding at the time, so it was a totally different situation.’’
Williams is now an astounding 31-5 in Grand Slam semifinal matches and has an overall 95-11 career record in the U.S. Open.
She’s endured her share of Grand Slam disappointments, most recently losing to Angelique Kerber in the Wimbledon final, and has been very cautious about looking ahead to No. 24 and having her name alongside Court in the record books.
“It’s hard to say because I had an opportunity to do that this summer, and it didn’t happen, so … I’m just going to keep trying,’’ she said. “If it doesn’t happen, I’ll keep trying for the next one.’’
For the 36-year-old Williams — who gave birth to Alexis Olympia a year ago — this current run of hers is about winning a first Grand Slam title as a mother. That drives her perhaps more than anything has driven her in her brilliant career.
Williams’ pursuit of that goal — after taking about a year away from the game during her pregnancy and after he daughter’s birth — is not lost on Woods, who has returned this year from four surgeries on his back that robbed him of nearly two years of his career.
“We’ve talked at length,’’ Woods said recently. “We’re very close friends. I think we both have had some nice comebacks this year.’’
Woods, who’s playing in the BMW Championship outside of Philadelphia this week and opened the tournament with an 8-under 62 on Thursday to take a share of the first-round lead with Rory McIlroy, hasn’t won a tournament since 2013 and hasn’t won a major since 2008.
Williams, since winning her first Grand Slam title in 1999 (the first of her six U.S. Open titles), has never gone longer than three years without winning a slam — and that was the span — from 1999-2002 — between her first and her second. Since then, Williams has gone two years without a slam just twice (2003-2005 and 2010-12).
Her sustained excellence while dominating her sport is unparalleled by anyone in any sport, though on Thursday night she said she’s been inspired by Woods’ comeback.
“He’s been coming back from all his back issues,’’ she said. “It’s been a disaster. But, boy, he never gave up. It’s inspiring, actually. I don’t think a lot of people really know how bad it was. I’m not at liberty to talk about it. But it definitely makes me realize that, ‘OK, I can definitely do my best, too, if he can.’ ’’
Source: Read Full Article