How come Serena was beaten in earlier days

[roysid]

Having following Serena since 2007 and what I see that today's girls have no power to even bother her. Whereas in earlier days, players like Justine Henin and Dementieva were giving her the fight.

Why is it so. Was Serena's serve not so tough in earlier days. Or the present day woman simply don't have that fight in them against her.


2007:
AO : No. 81 Serena crushes Sharapova like anything and wins.

FO: On her favorite surface clay, Justine demolishes frustated Serena.

W: Serena was injured in one hand. Got beaten in 3 sets by Justine.

USO: Well beaten in 2 sets by Justine.

2008:
AO and FO: Lost
W: Lost in final to Venus.
USO: Won

2009:
AO: Won convincingly with a bagel set in final.
FO: Lost a tough 3 setter to eventual champion Kuznetsova.
W: Won after a tough fight with Dementieva in semis
USO: Was favorite. Lost in SF against Clijsters.

2010:
AO: Won. Only Justine Henin came a good fight in final.
FO: Lost a tough one to finalist Stosur.
W: Won with total dominance.

 

[Jack Romeo]

well, the players you mentioned are all retired (henin and dementieva) or out with injury/illness (clijsters and venus). the other players in the field at the current us open just have too many issues with their games to challenge serena. they are not as mentally tough or powerful enough. those that do have some power to match serena (li na, kvitova, kuznetsova) are too up-and-down mentally. sharapova can probably match up fairly against serena IF she fixes her serve, which i don't see happening.

henin has a game that can really bother serena with all her variety, athleticism and power. she is also mentally tough enough to challenge serena. serena still has an edge in pure shotmaking ability but they are almost evenly-matched. henin is one player who can really make serena play badly.

dementieva is just as good an athlete as serena and her groundstrokes are rock-solid so she can really go toe-to-toe from the baseline. but serena still has an obvious advantage with her serve.

clijsters is also a good match-up because she has a little more margin on her groundstrokes without sacrificing power. she can cover the court just as well and has also learned to be mentally tougher. but i think serena still has better first-strike abilities.

venus, obviously, is the one player who knows serena's game inside-out. she is just as powerful and has even better court coverage with her longer reach. serena's edge is in variety and creating angles.

 

[Caesar]

Jelena Jankovic has a neutral W-L record against her, interestingly enough.

Most of the players who've obtained success against Serena have been able to combine power and consistency. Power and consistency isn't enough (that's why Davenport was her *****) but they're both necessary. Few players on the Tour these days combine both.

It's no surprise that most of the players with respectable H2Hs against her tend to lead on clay. The high bounce troubles her, so if you have powerful topspin strokes you're at an advantage.

 

[NadalAgassi]

You need to combine power, consistency, and movement to have any real success against Serena. Davenport didnt do that well vs Serena since her movement was atrocious. Pierce also didnt do well at all vs Serena for the same reason. Sharapova is just a comfortable matchup for Serena since shot for shot Serena has a bit of an edge (or more) on everthing, she never changes up in the least and gives Serena total rythym with one power shot after another, and since Maria while not a bad mover like Davenport isnt a particularly good one either. Also she doesnt even have a serve anymore as mentioned.

The occasional player has gotten by with limited firepower and still given Serena some challenge. Jankovic and Hingis both come to mind. Both were extremely smart players though.

Serena's biggest challengers over the years are definitely Capriati, Henin, Venus, and Hingis in no particular order. Serena still has a winning record vs all, but they are all close. Unlike Dementieva who has never beaten Serena even once in a slam, all these have beaten Serena multiple times in slams (well except Hingis but they only played in 3 and Serena leads 2-1). So analyze what these 4 players do well and it will give some insight in what you need to challenge Serena.

The current field is mostly thrash, and Serena is rejuvenated after her scary injury and the perspective it gave her. She is more determined than ever to cement her name in tennis history. There are also no real impressive up and comers to speak of other than mildly good ones like Woz and Azarenka, or wildly streaky ones like Kvitova and Lisicki, or ones with a cheeseburger binge like Pavly. So unlikely we will see too much challenge for Serena in the next little while, except by surface (clay), circumstance (fatigue, injury), or age (whenever she reaches the point she slows down significantly more).

 

[LuvTheGame]

Speaking of Capriati vs Serena...Remember 2004 US Open quarterfin -when that umpire overruled the lineman's call giving Capriati the point? Serena's return was clearly in. Several more bad linecalls occurred which that umpire did not overrule. After the match Serena was issued an apology once USTA Officials reviewed the tape. This horrific bad call during this match is credited as the reason the Hawk Eye System was put in place. Read more at http://williamssistersrock.wordpress.com/


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Last edited by LuvTheGame : Today at 08:40 PM. of Capriati