Serena Williams, number 1 in the world, plays Czech lefty Lucie Safarova, number 13 in the world. It was a three set match, with Serena in the second at 30-30, two points away from victory, and she chokes.
Shall we talk about choking for a minute? Even the pros choke. We know the amateurs choke. And usually at the worst moments, too. It happened to me last week, in two doubles matches at crucial points, of course my ball goes long from a volley shot at the net. It is mortifying, embarrassing, and you just want to go back and fix it real quick. But alas, you cannot. The point stands, and you are left with consequences~ a lost game, set or match.
In Serena's case, instead of closing the match in two sets, she is led to a tiebreaker, loses that, more choking, and proceeds to lose the next two games of the third set.
But like the champion she is, she hangs in there and the choke is over (choking will go way, if you have some time to re-coup your losses), and Serena wins the next six games to take the third set at 6-2. Wow. How many times are you in a match under those conditions and you come back? What gets you out of that hole? I can only say practice, practice, practice. Know your shots, have the courage to keep them and play harder when you are down.
The scores, 6-3, 6-7 (2), and 6-2. A struggle, but Serena pulls through. And playing a lefty, not easy to do especially when you are sick and not playing your best game. Serena Williams proves that there is a way to win, you have to have endurance, the will to win, and the strength of character to get out there and play. Just do it, as the Nike slogan goes.
Here is a seven minute Youtube with all the highlights, thank you, Serena and Lucie!
And the winner is...
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| courtesy New York Times, Ian Langdon/European Pressport Agency |
Click here for a great link that gives you the set by set play by play and match statistics!
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