Serena Turns the Open into a Love-In
Bill Simons
New York
The music blared loud, the fans packed the stadium up to row Z , a King called Billie Jean was in her suite, an ex-president named Clinton was in his seat and a Queen, Latifah, read a poem that said Serena was the queen of queens.
“The queen of bringing heat, the queen of raising our heartbeats, the queen of midnight and bright lights and never going down without a fight…The queen of, ‘‘You don’t stand a chance if you see this face.”
The most special opening night at the US Open in 25 years was upon us. Under the Arthur Ashe Stadium sign, not far from the Althea Gibson statue, a Canadian of African heritage, Felix Auger-Aliassime, was on the big screen, and four African-American women wore yellow T-shirts that read, “Unapologetic greatness – the Goat.”
“What makes Serena great?” we asked. “She’s walking, talking, living history,” replied Mailaika Beaty of Kingsford Heights, Indiana.
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Tennis reflects life. Tennis amplifies life. Sports remembers and recalls. And a quarter century ago in 1997, the US Open celebrated a glistening new stadium in honor of a great American. As songstress Whitney Houston belted out her anthem, “One Moment in Time,” on Arthur Ashe Stadium, WTA player Leslie Allen said, “Arthur is looking down from heaven and smiling.”`
Twelve days later Venus Williams became the US Open’s first black finalist since Althea Gibson in 1958. And today, 29,402 fans rose as one to honor the game’s most defining soul sister, its GOAT and singular heroine, Serena Williams.
The buzz was intense, an odd mixture of opening day and closing act. Moods swirled. Some fans were giddy with excitement, but most were sad, reflective, or melancholy. Star Wars says, “May the force be with you.” But after this year’s US Open, the prime force of 21st Century tennis will not be with us.
Naomi Osaka said, “Serena changed the sport so much. She’s introduced people that never heard of tennis…I wouldn’t be here without her whole family…She’s the biggest force in the sport. That’s not…trying to make Federer or Nadal smaller. I just think Serena’s the biggest thing that will ever be in the sport. It’s just an honor to watch her play. She gave us a chance…Her legacy is really cool.”
And so was this opener. Chris McKendry noted, “There has never been a night like this.” Broadcaster Cindy Shmerler asked, “Is this the US Open or the Serena Open?…As long as Serena’s still in the draw, it’s the Serena Open.” ESPN’s Howard Bryant noted, “She’s going to say, ‘I’m here to deal.’ She’s not here to wave goodbye.”
To the delight of the record Ashe crowd, as the match began, Serena broke Danka Kovinic. Could this match be easy? But the only player on tour from Montenegro, who’d never gotten beyond the third round of a Slam, had other ideas.
Yes, Serena dazzled in a flowing black and silver dress. The pioneer who began playing in beads now had sparkles in her hair. But her game was less than sparkling. Her serve was errant, her movement was labored, her match instincts seemed off, and her shot selection was problematic.
“No one hates losing more than Serena,” said Chris Fowler. But Serena lost her serve three times. This might be a long night. Kovinic was a point from going up 4-2.
But then Williams tapped into her inner Serena and blasted a backhand that just barely caught the corner of the baseline.
The tennis gods had offered their grace. Serena turned it on. “She’s looking dangerous,” quipped John McEnroe.
Soon we forgot about the rust and sluggishness so evident at Wimbledon, Toronto and Cincinnati. Here was a confident Serena, almost in full flight. She leaned into her backhands, blasted forehands to the lines, improved her movement and anticipation and played better defense.
Most of all, her serve was on: hard to read, placed perfectly, fast and heavy. She brushed aside the 18 errors she’d suffered in the first set and swept to a 6-3, 6-3 win. Chris Evert said, “I haven’t seen Serena play like this in five years.”
Then the lovefest began. Billie Jean King noted Serena’s fearlessness and thanked her for using her voice and dreaming big. Oprah noted how the years had passed in a blink and how Serena never backed down, assuring her, “Whatever you will be doing next, we will be watching you.”
Serena said the crowd was so overwhelming when she walked out on court that she felt it in her chest.
She noted, “When you are passionate about something and love it so much, it’s hard to walk away.” She added, “I wanted people to be inspired by my story – I’m from Compton!”
She claimed she just wanted to “blend in with the crowd” and joked with reporters that she’s going to continue being vague about her evolution.
Serena, who’ll face the No. 2 seed Anna Kontaveit on Wednesday and plays doubles with Venus on Thursday, was asked if, in the future, she’ll have an involvement with tennis.
She replied, “I love the sport…It’s given me so much. It’s given me a platform that I never even thought I would have…I don’t see myself not [being] a part of tennis…I just don’t know how. But I feel like we’ve come too far together to just not have anything to do with it.”
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UPSET CITY: The Serena love-in was not the only thing rocking the US Open today. No. 4 seed Stefanos Tsitsipas lost to Colombian Daniel Elahi Galan. No. 7 seed Simona Halep fell to a 20-year-old Ukrainian qualifier, Daria Snigur, and the No. 10 seed Taylor Fritz lost to his Los Angeles neighbor, Brandon Holt, who is Tracy Austin’s son.
