Serena Williams Putting Painful Recent Losses in the Past With French Open Run

Serena Williams gets another chance at history, or heartbreak.

A 21-time Grand Slam champion, Williams defeated Kiki Bertens 7-6(7), 6-4, in the semifinals of the 2016 French Open. In the final, she will face No. 4 Garbine Muguruza, who beat Sam Stosur, 6-2, 6-4. 

It’s another chance for the world No. 1 to win a 22nd Grand Slam title and tie Steffi Graf for most Slams in the Open era. This will be her third attempt at 22. She came close but failed at the 2015 U.S. Open and this year’s Australian Open. 

Yet merely getting back to another final demonstrates how Williams has put those painful recent losses behind her. 

Serena wins 1st 7-6 (9-7). If champions are defined by how they do when they’re not playing their best, we are in the process of definition

— Christopher Clarey (@christophclarey) June 3, 2016 No longer a slam dunk to win a Grand Slam, Williams will settle for being a long-range jumper if it gets her another trophy.

Regardless of how formidable the opponent, with Williams, it always seems as if she has to simply decide to move beyond past failures. As her coach Patrick Mouratoglou told the New York Times’ David Waldstein: “It’s not about them. It is about Serena. She will decide what her future is going to be in the next days.”

Up until winning the BNL d’Italia in Rome, Williams hadn’t won a title in nine months. Known as the consummate closer, the American struggled to capitalize on break points and put opponents away. Instead of shutting the door on matches, she found herself playing defense in finals against Angelique Kerber in the Australian Open and Victoria Azarenka at Indian Wells. 

Williams’ run in Rome and the ability to come back after trailing at Roland Garros reflects the 34-year-old’s resolve: no matter how painful the past, fight on.

She advanced to the semifinals in Paris after an epic comeback against unseeded Yulia Putintseva. Down a set and two games away from being sent home, Williams recovered and went on to win the third set 6-1. 

After the match, an exhausted Williams told ESPN: “I honestly didn’t think I was going to win that in the second set.”

A lack of confidence is something you seldom expect from someone considered the greatest of all time. Yet last year, at the U.S. Open, doubt crept in. 

With what must have seemed like the weight of world on her racket, Williams dropped two straight sets to No. 43 Roberta Vinci, a player who was 0-4 against her before that match.  

Instead of claiming a historic calendar-year Slam and tying Graf, Williams was a participant in one of the biggest …

continue reading in source www.bleacherreport.com