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Serena Williams blows away Ana Ivanovic to win in Cincinnati Roger Federer winds back the clock to beat David Ferrer in Cincinatti
(about 2 hours later)
Serena Williams is back. She did not so much cruise in the final of the Western & Southern Open here on Sunday as hobble distractedly but rediscovered her zest to blow Ana Ivanovic off the court in little over an hour. The American will be desperately hard to stop in the US Open next week if she can sustain this level of concentration and power. For a 33-year-old father of four, Roger Federer is growing younger by the day. If he can peak in New York next week after winning the 22nd Masters 1000 title of his career here on Sunday, he will scare a field peopled by nervous peers and ambitious contenders. He might not win it but he will give his army of worshippers plenty to feel good about.
She stroked 12 aces and just 14 unforced errors – in marked contrast to her mistake-riddled win over Caroline Wozniacki in the semi-finals. Why she is so up and down remains a mystery; perhaps she is husbanding her resources after three tournaments in three weeks, a commitment to the Tour she hasn’t made since 2007. “I’m happy how I’m playing,” he said of the third title victory of his encouraging year, a 6-3, 1-6, 6-2 win over David Ferrer, who again walked from the court smiling sheepishly, as if merely happy to be in such illustrious company.
American TV works in mysterious ways, but shifting the final to the ESPN News channel from ESPN2 to accommodate extended coverage of the Little League World Series seemed perverse. Five-foot high kids struggling to hit the ball to the fence did not seem to stack up against the 120mph-plus serving of Williams and the edgy play of Ivanovic as elite athletic performance. “I know I didn’t beat Rafa [Nadal, absent injured] and Novak [Djokovic, embarrassed in the third round by Tommy Robredo] here, but you an only beat who you play. Clearly I can’t wait for the US Open, but I need some rest too.”
Still, that’s a side issue; they got back on the main channel towards the end of the first set. On court, the action was worthy of the widest possible audience and the 11,455 spectators who filled all the seats on Centre Court (13 of the 14 sessions all week were sold out, pushing total numbers past last year’s 187,000) got better value for money than did the previous afternoon. Well, he did beat Milos Raonic going away in the semi-final, shocking the young Canadian who was hitting a decent pitch. And he forgot the come-from-behind straight sets embarrassment he inflicted on Andy Murray in the quarters, too, apparently. Self-deprecation some times can blur the memory.
Ivanovic looked to have emerged unscathed from the complaint that forced her to collapse clutching her stomach in the third set of a wild and entertaining contest against Maria Sharapova on Saturday night. All was well on Planet Federer on a mild midwest afternoon, though, the sort folks might choose to illuminate with a barbecue while keeping half an eye on the tennis. Roger was beating up the Spaniard with the mien of a maltreated puppy, waltzing through the first set in pursuit of his sixth trophy here, when Ferrer, a mere 32, turned into a snarling Rottweiler and made life distinctly unpleasant for the elegant Swiss.
The world No11 led 3-1 against the slow-starting Williams, but could not hang on to it, despite producing several crowd-pleasing winners, most of them on the run as Williams forced her deep and wide. This was the first Masters 1000 final between two thirtysomethings in the 24 years of the competition, but the fourth in a Tour final this year. Those are remarkable numbers for the chasing herd to contemplate.
Again – and this is a recurring theme – the fans seemed to be with whoever was on the other side of the net from Williams, sufficiently to make it incongruous. Is she too dominant for their tastes? Too aloof? It might be the fans just wanted a contest. They don’t always get that when Williams is in full flow, and Ivanovic did her best to oblige them. Ultimately the tenacious Ferrer could do little to stop the world no3 winning 6-3, 1-6, 6-2 because he ran out of tricks, frustrated by Federer’s uncanny timing in closing down the court after every heavy groundstroke. He was winning points without hitting the ball.
However, even underdone – as she has been for some time – Williams is too strong for nearly anyone in the game. Her serve, shaky at first, grew in power and precision and had too many free points in the bag for Ivanovic to mount a sustained response. Once she had broken the Serb’s resistance, Williams cruised to the finish, serving out to love with two aces after just over an hour. She is in perfect mood and shape for Flushing Meadows. When Federer broke Ferrer for 11th time he had posted his 16th straight win over a competitor who seems condemned to be the sport’s punchbag at the business end of major tournaments.
Ivanovic could also be a threat. She will move up to No9, giving her an eighth seeding, and will draw comfort from the way she tamed Sharapova in the semis. The high point of the drama, however, arrived in the second set. It is six years since Federer had dropped a second set to love. “It was a tough beginning,” he said. “That was David’s best stretch. He was able to keep going. Next thing I’m down four-zip. Got a bit lucky. Thought he was getting a little bit tired, and I got over the line in the end.”
Earlier, the Bryan brothers, Mike and Bob, were hugely popular winners against the rising duo of Jack Sock and Vasek Pospisil, taking the doubles title 6-3, 6-2 without fuss, as well as evening the score after losing to them in the Wimbledon final. It was a first loss as a young team for American Sock and his Canadian partner. Always good to watch, doubles just got more interesting. Federer has got over the line that really matters 17 times in majors. What are his chances of doing it one more time? Good to very good – but probably not quite as good as those of Serena Williams, also “marooned” on 17 slam titles, but whose return to form beating Ana Ivanovic 6-4, 6-1 in just over an hour to win the women’s final encouraged the belief that she can, indeed, win at Flushing Meadows.
She stroked 12 aces and just 14 unforced errors – in marked contrast to her mistake-riddled win over Caroline Wozniacki in the semi-finals on Saturday.
However, even underdone – as she has been for some time – Williams is too strong for nearly anyone in the game. Her serve, shaky at first, grew in power and precision in the final and she had too many free points in the bag for Ivanovic to mount a sustained response. Once she had broken the Serb’s resistance, Williams strolled to the finish, serving out to love with two aces.
Earlier, the Bryan brothers, Mike and Bob, were hugely popular winners against the rising duo of Jack Sock and Vasek Pospisil, taking the doubles title 6-3, 6-2 without fuss, as well as evening the score after losing to them in the Wimbledon final. It was a first loss as a young team for American Sock and his Canadian partner.
The Bryans, meanwhile, posted their 99th victory – something for the kids to aim at. Always good to watch, doubles just got more interesting.