Serena Williams is taking nothing for granted as she vies for a third straight US Open title, which would put her alongside two greats of the game.
The 32-year-old, once known for stepping up her game when it mattered most, has thrice been thwarted in 2014 in her bid to join Chris Evert and Martina Navratilova as 18-time major singles champions.
Although she has lifted five WTA trophies this year, she has failed to make it past the fourth round at the Australian Open, French Open or Wimbledon.
So she sounded wary of the suggestion that a return to Flushing Meadows, where she has won five US Open titles, would produce major number 18.
“Yeah, Australian, Wimbledon, and French also could have been 18,” she said. “Didn’t quite happen.”
But Williams was firing on all cylinders as she won two hardcourt titles in the buildup to the Open.
Her straight-sets win over Ana Ivanovic in the final at Cincinnati showed Williams at her dominant best. It was a long way from Ivanovic’s fourth-round victory over Williams at the Australian Open, where the American was hindered by back pain.
Fitness woes, a second-round exit at Roland Garros, and the vir-us that left her weak and woozy in doubles after her shock third-round singles exit at Wimbledon, are all in the past, insists Williams.
“I’m in some of the best shape I’ve been in,” said the world No1. “I can play long points and be ready to go again. I feel really fit – 32 is the new 22, right?”
An actual 22-year-old, Simona Halep, will be among those trying to topple Williams in New York. The Romanian has been knocking at the door of a first Grand Slam title this year, finishing runner-up to Maria Sharapova at Roland Garros. Halep also reached the quarter-finals of the Australian Open and the semi-finals at Wimbledon as she climbed to No2 in the world.
Also putting up a challenge will be Sharapova. Her appetite is only greater after she missed last year’s US Open with a shoulder injury that brought her season to a premature close. She sealed yet another return from injury by capturing her fifth Grand Slam in Paris, but she has never won two majors in the same year.
