THE tennisreporters.net NEWSLETTER: WEDNESDAY, JUNE 4, NO. 31

Mean and tough Serena has arrived

By Alix Ramsay
Special to tennisreporters.net

Fred Mullane/Camerawork USA, Inc.

FROM ROLAND GARROS – It has taken eight days but at last Serena Williams has arrived in town. There has been a rather limited imitation of the champion knocking around Roland Garros for the past four rounds but, finally, the real McCoy has turned up. And, by the look of her, she means business.

On Tuesday the Serena that all have come to dread and fear knocked lumps out of Amelie Mauresmo 6-1, 6-2 and marched into the semifinals. It was swift, it was brutal and it was a warning to all who now stand in her path.

Just over two weeks ago, Serena was caught off guard by Mauresmo, beaten in the semifinals of the Italian Open thanks to a combination of duff tactics, limited concentration and Mauresmo's scything backhand. But once bitten, twice shy.

Meeting again, Williams had locked on to her target from the off and would not be distracted from her task. The crowd, all 16,000 of them, were doing all they could to rouse their heroine but Williams did not care. She spotted fear in Mauresmo's eyes from the first fluffed return and then she went for the kill. Mauresmo was nervous and Williams smelled blood.

Focused
"It's difficult when you play a player who the crowd loves so much and who does so much for the country and you're playing her in her own country. Then it's like you have to put yourself in a bubble and pretend as if nothing's around, pretend as if you don't hear anything and pretend you are the only person on that court and you're only playing her. You have to be really focused," she said.

Focused did not begin to describe the level of concentration. Her body language from the warm-up was that of the prize fighter in a strop. She pummeled Mauresmo and then, when Mauresmo had the temerity to win a game, she broke back in sheer fury. The stamped foot, the clenched fist and the prompt turn on her heel to stomp back to the baseline spoke volumes: Do not mess with Serena in this sort of mood.

But the world No. 1 is cleverer than that. She has learned the art of international relations in the past couple of years and, despite her obvious disgust at being caught by a lob (and not being too chuffed with the line judge calling it in), she swiftly turned to applaud her opponent. She was shredding the crowd's darling, but she would make Paris love her for it.

Susan Mullane/ Camerawork USA, Inc.

It took Mauresmo 45 minutes before she could conquer her nerves and start to play but by that stage, she was already a set and two sets down. And she knew that that was simply not good enough.

"I think it was too late when you wake up after a set and half against Serena," she said. "I think, then, it's a bit too late. You can maybe lose a first set and then start very well at the beginning of the second set but when it is 4-0 or 5-2, then it is just too late."

Justine needs to learn how to win in Slams
It was a stark lesson to Justine Henin-Hardenne, her semifinal opponent. Had it not been for a fit of the jitters, she could have beaten Kim Clijsters to reach the '01 French Open final and, had she played as well as she did in the second set of the Wimbledon final four weeks later against Venus, she could have been a Grand Slam champion by now.

Coming to terms with her nerves has been a slow and painful business. Her 6-3, 6-2 win over Chanda Rubin was not a classic by any means, but it was surely authoritative. Like Mauresmo, she beat Serena the last time they met (that was in Charleston in April) but, like Mauresmo, she knows that such history means nothing.

"I think she is the favorite for sure," she said, rather more generously than was necessary. "Everybody said Serena is not playing so well at the beginning, especially in the last match against Sugiyama. Everybody gave her the motivation she needed for beating Amelie today. She was so focused, she was so determined. You know, when she has to play, she does."

So, the lesson is: Don't get Serena angry; it will only mean tears before bedtime. Even Andre Agassi, who had other things on his mind Tuesday, was impressed. Serena already holds all four Grand Slam titles and is now beginning the defense of those trophies. That is a massive task by anyone's standards.

"I'll tell you what's impressive," he said, "it's how possible she makes it look. That's what's impressive. She's bigger, stronger, faster and she hits the ball better. It's hard to picture her losing."

After yesterday's bloodletting on the Court Philippe Chatrier, it is impossible not to go along with Agassi. Alarmingly, the rest of the women's field may just agree with him, too.