Serena Williams was honored yesterday as the Associated Press's pick for Female Athlete of the Year. This is the third time that she has won the award.
Williams, who won her 17th major in 2013, ended the year with a 78-4 record and 11 titles, as well as more than $12 million in prize money. She also ended the season as the oldest (32) number 1 player in WTA history. In addition, Williams enjoyed a 34-match winning streak during 2013.
"She just continues to be an inspiration to American tennis," said
Gordon Smith, the executive director of the USTA.
9 comments:
We're living in a golden age - Serena has been magnificent. I keep hoping for someone who will push her a la Martina-Chris.
The only one who could do that is Kvitova. But her health issues (asthma and 10 viral infections in a year-and-a-half) probably preclude her from being able to compete well more than a few times per year.
The real Petra showed up today in Perth. Love and one! Firing on all cylinders all the way. Otherworldly, like back in the good ol' days!
Yes, she did. She did not 'work' many points, instead going for the winner most of the time. Few rallies went more than four or five shots. Many ended on one or two. It was the way that she played two years ago. I wonder whether or not she wasted a lot of time trying to 'work' the points. I know that a lot of pundits recommended it.
An interesting discussion, and one I'll weigh in on:
When Petra's confidence is high, she can "play like Petra" and kill. But when her confidence is off, she really, really needs a Plan B, which is to work the points. The thing is--she has a lot of skills for working the points. She just needs to calm down.
It seems like a no-brainer to me (easy, of course, sitting in my house watching TV) that restoring her confidence has to be the top priority, and the second priority has to be to force her to "work the points." In fact, feeling good with point construction would probably go a long way to restore her confidence because she would be comfortable in many different situations.
As for her health issues--I think a lot of that is probably psychologically driven, but you know where I live :)
Diane, you're right about confidence. Petra's confidence was palpable yesterday. It was so high that her serve was hitting at and above 110, and her accuracy was beyond reproach. Unbelievable. The word 'brutal' comes to mind. It was a demolition the likes of which was last seen two years ago. I felt sorry for the balls and for her opponent!
When Petra's "on," she's scary. I really think ther's a significant psychological component here. Oh Petra--please find a way to stay "on."
That's why Serena is female athlete of the year (maybe athlete of the year): 9 times out of 10 she "plays like Serena."
Petra played well in her 1st match of the season. In her very next match she played as if it was the last match of the previous season & she was spent. Serena played her 1st match of the season as if she was trying to find her game. She struggled with everything but in the end you knew what the outcome was going to be. Petkovic was playing outside of her comfort zone. She went for big serves & she tried to stand toe to toe with Serena. All Serena had to do was change up her game & be patient. Whenever Petra learns to do that, then she can be mentioned in the same breath as Serena, until then, no dice.
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