Re: Serena's retirement & Related

[ashkor87]

I always felt it was good she didn't get #24, there should always be something incomplete, makes it more human...like Bradman scoring zero in his last innings (cricket fans will know..)..Tendulkar never scoring a century at Lord's...

Same. Plus, this means she has a reason to come back after having another kid or two. She will play Olympia at Wimbledon for #24.

Connors at the USO gave it all. All the good (the 91 match against Pat McEnroe), the ugly (the Corrado Barazutti match in 1977), and the bad (his behavior after losing the 77 final to Vilas). But he was never boring, if you could stomach the boorish.

Was Connors worse than Kyrgios?

There was always something mean-spirited about Connors, Kyrgios doesn't give that impression..remember the story about how Agassi used to bring him his strung rackets and Connors blew him off when he tried to speak to Connors..kyrgios would not be mean to a kid.. vut who knows, I dont know him personally so..

[ponchi101]

Connors worse that Kyrgios? No. Connors never tanked a match, a set, a game or a point. His interaction with fans was far superior, and he was usually accessible there.
About Connors and Agassi. Connors disliked Agassi because he felt that Agassi was not serious about tennis early in his career. Connors even had some choice words for Sampras after Sampras lost in the QF of the 91 USO and said it was fine, because he no longer had the pressure of being the "USO Champion". Connors exploded, saying "having the pressure of being the USO Champion is everything I have worked for all my life".
Connors behavior and demeanor could be questioned at times. His love for the game, not.

[Deuce]

^ Pretty much.
One of the main differences is that Connors was obnoxious, whereas Kyrgios is incredibly immature.

And, yes - you'd never see Connors not trying his best on the court. He'd 'tank' part of a set at times when he was significantly behind in the set - to be fresh for the next set -, but pretty much all players do that in certain situations.
And Connors would never attempt any trick shots or circus shots. While he liked to entertain, he was also all business.

[ti-amie]

Welp one question is answered...

[Canucklehead]

There is no denying that certainly players had that love for the game, and Serena is one of those players as well. There were times where she would go the route for the flair of drama on the court, and a lot of that stemmed from her desire to do her best in every match. She hated to lose and she hated not performing at what she thought was 110% every time she took the court. A few of her outbursts on the court and reactions in press conferences might have come across as spoiled, but in my opinion I believe it came down to her desire to always want to perform at her best. She did that most of the time.

I don't know if that is the case with Jimmy Connors, because I really don't know as much about his game as I do of Serena's.

[meganfernandez]

What were some of Serena's Slams that got away? Such as:

2004 Wimbledon - she should have beaten Sharapova. Never lost to her again, right?
2011 US Open - should have beaten Stosur, right? Rattled by hindrance call? Or just off her game?
2015 US Open - obviously, the Vinci semi
2018 Wimbledon - You could make the case for any of the four Slam finals she reached after having Olympia, but this one was the most winnable, I think. Had breaten Kerber at Wimbledon in 2016 and was just vacant in this match, right?
2019 Australian Open - wasn't a final, but she twisted her ankle vs Pliskova while leading 5-1 in the third set. Didn't call a trainer and have it taped. Couldn't push off on her serve, lost next 6 games. Such a weird decision not to call the trainer.

Are there some more obscure ones, particularly before the 2017 Aussie? Doesn't have to be a final. Just a golden opportunity lost.

[AcesAnnie]

I have had the privilege to watch the entire Serena Williams career unfold as a tennis fan. Being someone who is only a novice tennis player and grew up and worked on my running all my life, I still have grown to admire the game of tennis and many of the players that I have watched over the many years, including Serena. Whatever path she decides to take after she is completely finished with tennis, whether that be coaching, commentating, or being a mom she will be terrific at it.

[meganfernandez]

Roger’s message to Serena. Crickets from Sharapova.

[ashkor87]

What were some of Serena's Slams that got away? Such as:

2004 Wimbledon - she should have beaten Sharapova. Never lost to her again, right?
2011 US Open - should have beaten Stosur, right? Rattled by hindrance call? Or just off her game?
2015 US Open - obviously, the Vinci semi
2018 Wimbledon - You could make the case for any of the four Slam finals she reached after having Olympia, but this one was the most winnable, I think. Had breaten Kerber at Wimbledon in 2016 and was just vacant in this match, right?
2019 Australian Open - wasn't a final, but she twisted her ankle vs Pliskova while leading 5-1 in the third set. Didn't call a trainer and have it taped. Couldn't push off on her serve, lost next 6 games. Such a weird decision not to call the trainer.

Are there some more obscure ones, particularly before the 2017 Aussie? Doesn't have to be a final. Just a golden opportunity lost.

All we need to do is note how many times Venus beat her at a major! But for Venus, Serena would have won 27 majors ..of course, maybe but for Venus, Serena would have won 0! Cuts both ways

[ashkor87]

But yes, Vinci was the one that got away .she just froze on the court, didn't seem to have a game plan at all .failure of coaching, actually..everyone knows Vinci has a tricky game, should have figured out in advance what to do about it .

[led14pa2]

What were some of Serena's Slams that got away? Such as:

2004 Wimbledon - she should have beaten Sharapova. Never lost to her again, right?
2011 US Open - should have beaten Stosur, right? Rattled by hindrance call? Or just off her game?
2015 US Open - obviously, the Vinci semi
2018 Wimbledon - You could make the case for any of the four Slam finals she reached after having Olympia, but this one was the most winnable, I think. Had breaten Kerber at Wimbledon in 2016 and was just vacant in this match, right?
2019 Australian Open - wasn't a final, but she twisted her ankle vs Pliskova while leading 5-1 in the third set. Didn't call a trainer and have it taped. Couldn't push off on her serve, lost next 6 games. Such a weird decision not to call the trainer.

Are there some more obscure ones, particularly before the 2017 Aussie? Doesn't have to be a final. Just a golden opportunity lost.

All we need to do is note how many times Venus beat her at a major! But for Venus, Serena would have won 27 majors ..of course, maybe but for Venus, Serena would have won 0! Cuts both ways

Very interesting topic! I'd add two more old ones to the list:

2003 French Open - Had Henin on the ropes in the semis before Henin controversially raised her hand before Serena's serve. Serena hit a fault, but the umpire didn't give her a 1st serve. Serena would have almost certainly won the final over Clijsters.
2004 US Open - Lost in QF to Capriati in part due to a bunch of awful line calls. There was no challenge system back then. I don't remember who she'd have played next, but the Capriati match was definitely winnable.

[meganfernandez]

What were some of Serena's Slams that got away? Such as:

2004 Wimbledon - she should have beaten Sharapova. Never lost to her again, right?
2011 US Open - should have beaten Stosur, right? Rattled by hindrance call? Or just off her game?
2015 US Open - obviously, the Vinci semi
2018 Wimbledon - You could make the case for any of the four Slam finals she reached after having Olympia, but this one was the most winnable, I think. Had breaten Kerber at Wimbledon in 2016 and was just vacant in this match, right?
2019 Australian Open - wasn't a final, but she twisted her ankle vs Pliskova while leading 5-1 in the third set. Didn't call a trainer and have it taped. Couldn't push off on her serve, lost next 6 games. Such a weird decision not to call the trainer.

Are there some more obscure ones, particularly before the 2017 Aussie? Doesn't have to be a final. Just a golden opportunity lost.

All we need to do is note how many times Venus beat her at a major! But for Venus, Serena would have won 27 majors ..of course, maybe but for Venus, Serena would have won 0! Cuts both ways

Very interesting topic! I'd add two more old ones to the list:

2003 French Open - Had Henin on the ropes in the semis before Henin controversially raised her hand before Serena's serve. Serena hit a fault, but the umpire didn't give her a 1st serve. Serena would have almost certainly won the final over Clijsters.
2004 US Open - Lost in QF to Capriati in part due to a bunch of awful line calls. There was no challenge system back then. I don't remember who she'd have played next, but the Capriati match was definitely winnable.

Thanks! Good ones.


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[Suliso]

On the other hand she won three GS's from a match point down. Either could have gotten away easily by a single error or a single ace from an opponent.

[meganfernandez]

On the other hand she won three GS's from a match point down. Either could have gotten away easily by a single error or a single ace from an opponent.

Nice! Do you remember which ones? I might write an article on this, so this is extremely helpful.

[Suliso]

On the other hand she won three GS's from a match point down. Either could have gotten away easily by a single error or a single ace from an opponent.

Nice! Do you remember which ones? I might write an article on this, so this is extremely helpful.

I only remembered that it was three times. After some googling: 2003 AO SF vs Clijsters, 2005 AO SF vs Sharapova and 2009 W SF vs Dementieva