1. 60 TELESCOPE september 2013
Wonder
Williams
The Lioness Roars
less than a sixth crown at
England’s showpiece Grand Slam
tournament in June.
Fortunately, she shrugged
off her massive Wimbledon
disappointment to clinch the
Swedish Open in July, beating home
favourite Johanna Larsson 6–4, 6–1.
Her success culminated in
Williams’ 51st win in 2013, and her
seventh title for the year.
With that victory in the bag,
she will now turn her attention
towards the US Open at Flushing
Meadows from late August
to early September. Williams
is a four-time winner of the
competition, having earned her
maiden victory in 1999, when she
beat then world No. 1 Martina
Hingis in the final.
She was also glorious on home
soil on three other occasions—in
2002, 2008 and 2012—and boasts
a record of 65 wins and nine losses
at Flushing Meadows. Renowned
for her explosive style of play,
Williams’ forehand and backhand
Serena Williams may have suffered an early exit at
Wimbledon, but Sham Majid thinks you shouldn’t
write off her US Open chances.
TT
Theshockandastonishment
reverberating around
the post-match press
conference was palpable.
Serena Williams, the red-
hot favourite to win her sixth
Wimbledon crown, was ousted in
the fourth round by the German
giant-slayer, Sabine Lisicki. The
American ace’s 6–2, 1–6, 6–4
loss to Lisicki had snapped her
breathtaking 34-match winning
streak. Nevertheless, Williams
played down her stunning exit
from Wimbledon, insisting,
according to Melissa Isaacson
from ESPNW, that her defeat was
“definitely not a shock.”
“I feel like I had an extremely
tough draw today. I feel like of all
the rounds of 16, I probably had
the toughest one,” Williams was
quoted by ESPNW as saying. “I
mean, I’ve said this, I don’t know
if you’ve heard, but she’s a great
grass-court player. You know,
c’mon, guys, let’s get with it. She’s
excellent. She’s not a pushover.
She’s a great player. To play this
match in any Wimbledon on
the fourth round... it’s definitely
difficult.”
Difficult it may be for any
other ordinary tennis player—not
a five-time Wimbledon female
singles champion. Williams
would have targeted nothing

2. september 2013 TELESCOPE 61
Sports Feature
A peek at other contenders for
the 2013 US Open women’s
singles crown.
swings are much-feared components
of her attacking arsenal.
She demonstrated her frightening
precision and power during the 2013
French Open, when she swept aside
Maria Sharapova 6–4, 6–4 to claim her
second win at Roland Garros.
But while Williams is a 16-time
Grand Slam singles champion,
her unbecoming conduct on two
particular occasions during the
US Open has seen her endure a
bittersweet relationship with the
home faithful.
In the 2009 US Open semi-final,
Williams suffered a 6–4, 7–5 loss to
Kim Clijsters when she was issued a
point penalty at match point down
after berating the lineswoman with
a barrage of abuse. Her improper
conduct again flared up during the 2011
final against Samantha Stosur, when
a frustrated Williams lashed out at an
umpire, resulting in a US$2,000 fine
for the American. Williams eventually
slumped to a 6-2, 6-3 loss.
In fact, Williams also marched
all the way to the 2001 US Open
final, but succumbed 6–2, 6–4 to
sister Venus. And while she may
not be America’s most well-loved
athlete, Williams is certainly one
of America’s most prolific tennis
sporting personalities. Her shocking
exit at Wimbledon was certainly
a setback, but as proceedings in
Sweden epitomised, the Williams
juggernaut is rolling nicely ahead in
anticipation of Flushing Meadows.
Ladies in Waiting
Renownedforherexplosive
aremuch-fearedcomponents
WHEN?
US Open
27 Aug–10 Sep
Racquet Channel
(CH 211)
Agnieszka Radwanska
A losing finalist to Serena
Williams in last year’s
Wimbledon championship,
Polish favourite Agnieszka
Radwanska yielded to Sabine
Lisicki in the semi-finals of this
year’s competition. She also
progressed to the quarter-
finals of both the Australian
Open and French Open this
year. Radwanska, though, has
disappointingly not gone past
the fourth-round stage of the US
Open singles event.
Maria Sharapova
A then 19-year-old Maria
Sharapova clinched her
maiden US Open crown in
2006 after she overcame
Justine Henin-Hardenne
in the final. She had earlier
reached the semi-finals of
the 2005 US Open. Last year,
the Russian was ousted in
the semi-finals by Belarusian
Victoria Azarenka. While
Sharapova has had a strong
2013 campaign thus far,
she has failed to muster a
single Grand Slam title this
year: she was eliminated at
the semi-final stage of the
Australian Open, and was
comprehensively beaten by
Serena Williams in the
French Open final.
Marion Bartoli
The Frenchwoman
claimed her first-ever
Grand Slam singles
title when she won
the 2013 Wimbledon
championship. She had
earlier featured in the
2007 Wimbledon final,
but lost to Venus Williams.
She produced her strongest
showing in the US Open last
year, when she progressed to
the quarter-finals, only to be
defeated by Maria Sharapova.
Her finest hour in tennis
came this year, when Bartoli
slalomed her way past Sabine
Lisicki 6–1, 6–4 to win the
Wimbledon crown.
Victoria Azarenka
Winner of back-to-back
Australian Open titles in 2012
and 2013, Victoria Azarenka
featured in the US Open final
last year, but Serena Williams
overpowered her. Azarenka
also marched into the last
four of the French Open this
year before being eliminated
by Alize Cornet. She suffered
a shock second-round exit
at this year’s Wimbledon
tournament.
styleofplay,Williams’
ofherattackingarsenal.
forehandandbackhandswings