The punishing shots, lopsided result and crystal championship trophy served as confirmation: Serena Williams is back. With a performance worthy of her Wonder Woman outfit, Williams culminated her NASDAQ comeback Saturday by beating Elena Dementieva 6-1, 6-1 in the final of the NASDAQ-100 Open.
The 50-minute match was the most one-sided women's final in the 20-year history of the tournament.
Playing in her first event after an eight-month layoff following knee surgery, the top-seeded Williams lost just one set en route to her third consecutive Key Biscayne title. And she was at her most overwhelming against Dementieva.
"I think the rust has definitely worn off," Williams said. "Honestly, I didn't expect to win my first tournament back."
Williams wore the tank top and hot pants she refers to as her Wonder Woman ensemble, and she looked the part, winning 12 consecutive points early to take control and running off 11 consecutive games. When Dementieva sent her final shot long, Williams raised her arms and gleefully skipped to the net.
The last top woman to win a title in her first tournament following a layoff of at least six months was Monica Seles, who was sidelined more than two years after being stabbed and won her first comeback event in Toronto in 1995.
"I used her as inspiration," Williams said. "I thought, `If Monica can do it, maybe I can at least win a few rounds.'"
Basszus, lemaradtam a döntőről!
Otthon kezdtem, de az első gém végén elindultam a cimbimhez. Mire ott bekapcsoltam már integetett a közönségnek...
Mintha erősödött volna...bizonyos helyken. nektek nem tűnt fel?
Attól függetlenül, hogy Serena Williams igazán erőteljesnek érzi magát ebben az öltözékben, mint mondja, olyan, mintha szuperhős lenne benne - nem túl valószínű, hogy az All England Club is méltányolni fogja a sztrecs felsőt Wimbledonban.
Serena nagyon előnyös szerződést kötött a Nike sportcéggel, aki mostantól öt éven keresztül szállítja neki a teniszruhát. Ugyanakkor az amerikai gigantikus sportcégnek el kell beszélgetnie az All England Clubbal is, hogy az angol nyílt teniszbajnokságon milyen mezben léphetnek pályára a játékosok.
Christopher Gorringe, az All England Club igazgatója elmondta:
"Levelet intézünk a gyártóknak azzal a kéréssel, hogy lássuk, mit szeretnének viselni a játékosok, és eleddig mindegyikükkel nagyon jó volt az együttműködésünk."
Gorringe úr legjobban Serena Williams ruhájára kiváncsi, de, mint mondta, mivel annak a színe teljesen fehér, kész enyhíteni a követelményeken.
Az amerikai, 22 éves volt világelső az első fordulóban az új, kétrészes viseletben lépne pályára, de erről még nem született érdemleges döntés.
(1) Serena Williams (USA) d. (31) Elena Likhovtseva (RUS) 61 46 63
The second outing for Serena Williams lasted twice as long as the first, but the top seed still managed to reach the fourth round in Miami. The two-time defending champion fought off an upset charge by No.31 seed Elena Likhovtseva of Russia to win her 14th straight match at the tournament with a 61 46 63 win.
Serena was only on court for 42 minutes in her 61 60 victory against Marta Marrero in the third round. And after sprinting out to a 5-0 first set lead, Likhovtseva began playing toe-to-toe with the former world No.1, finally getting a break late in the second set to force a third set with the 2002 and 2003 champion.
Serena wasted no time getting an early break in the third and finally served out the match at 5-3, moving into the next round on her fifth match point.
"I just couldn't get a ball in today," Serena said. "I just kept flying it. But it was okay. I'm glad I had that match, because I've been out of match play for a while. So that was pretty exciting."
Likhovtseva, who won the previous match between the two players back in 2000 at the Australian Open, said she let several chances slip a way in the third set.
"I think I started to play a little more relaxed than in the first set," Likhovtseva said. "It's tough to get in rhythm with her. She was hitting good returns and she didn't give me the rhythm. I struggled with my serve.
"Then, the second set, I played a little bit more relaxed and she just wanted to hit winners. Then all of a sudden, she started to make a lot of unforced errors. I think I had a lot of chanced in the third set."
Serena will next have an enticing fourth round matchup against No.17 seed Maria Sharapova. Sharapova advanced to the fourth round in only her second appearance at the event with a 75 62 victory against No.13 seed Anna Smashnova-Pistolesi.
MIAMI - Serena Williams didn't waste anytime making her grand re-entrance into the tennis world, needing only 42 minutes to win her first match in more than eight months. Williams defeated Spain's Marta Marrero, 61 60, on Friday to advance to the third round of the NASDAQ-100 Open.
The top seed and defending champion, out of action since defending her title at Wimbledon because of surgery to repair a partial tear of her left knee quadriceps, looks very close to the dominating player that won four straight Grand Slam titles.
"I was very nervous going out there," said Williams, describing the moments leading up to his return match. "I think my dad was with Venus practicing, so I was just waiting on my own. But then I decided that I'm just gonna go out there and do the best I can."
Though she hasn't played in more than half a year, Williams was still very critical of her game, citing several things she could have improved on in her comeback match.
"I think I could have done a lot of things better, actually," Williams said. "I think I miss hit a few balls, I made a few errors. I think I came in pretty well, my approach shots."
For the second straight week, Marrero was forced to play the tournament's top seed after qualifying. Last week, Marrero reached the main draw and had to face World No.1 Justine Henin-Hardenne. This time, she had the challenge of playing Williams.
"It's hard to play with someone like Serena," Marrero said. "But it's good to play with someone like her. It's good experience."
Ending an eight-month layoff, Williams easily won her opening match Friday at the NASDAQ-100 Open, beating qualifier Marta Marrero 6-1, 6-0.
The match was the first for Williams since she earned her sixth Grand Slam title by beating older sister Venus at Wimbledon last July. She had been out since undergoing knee surgery Aug. 1 but showed few signs of rust.
Williams' first stroke was a service winner, and she won eight of the first nine points with little effort. She closed each set with an ace, displaying the same overpowering game that had her ranked No. 1 before she was sidelined.
"I definitely was a little nervous," she said. "But once I stepped on the court, I was OK."
The victory was the 13th in a row at Key Biscayne for Williams, a two-time defending champion. Marrero offered little resistance, winning just 23 of 74 points and double-faulting eight times.
MIAMI - It's been more than eight months since Serena Williams saw action in a professional tennis match, but the wait will be over shortly. The former World No.1 will return to action this week at the NASDAQ-100 Open in Miami - ending her long stint away from the game.
Williams last played at Wimbledon in July, where she successfully defended her title by defeating sister Venus in the final. Several weeks later she underwent an operation to repair a partial tear in her left knee that forced her to miss the remainder of the season.
Now that only a few days remain before Williams makes her return, the winner of the last two Miami titles is eagerly awaiting her first opportunity back on court.
"All day long I think about it," Williams said. "I’m really excited to get out there and play.I’m more excited than everyone else. As excited as everyone else is, I’m ten times more excited."
Before the injury, Williams was clearly the most dominate player on the circuit. Beginning with her title at Roland Garros back in 2002, Williams won four straight Grand Slam titles - a streak that came to an end in Paris last year where she lost to Justine Henin-Hardenne in the semifinals. She went on to win Wimbledon several weeks later and finish the year with a 38-3 record and four titles.
One of those titles came at the NASDAQ-100 Open, where she won the title for the second straight year, defeating Jennifer Capriati in the final. Williams also defeated Capriati in the 2002 championship match and Venus handed Capriati a loss in the 2001 final.
Her return to tennis also coincides with the 20th anniversary of the NASDAQ-100 Open. The previous 19 tournaments have been won by nine players - all but one who were or went on to hold the World No.1. If Williams goes on to win a third title at the event, she will join sister Venus and Steffi Graf as the only three-time winners of the event.
While recovering from the surgery, Williams spent time working on some of her fashion designs and acting in several different roles. The stint away from tennis was the longest Williams had been away from the sport since she was very young, but didn't take away her passion from the sport.
"When I first got off and took a break, it was like a relief almost," Williams said. "I was like,'Wow, I never had this much time off. I can wake up when I want. I don’t have to think about going to the courts.' But after awhile that gets old. I did enjoy doing a lot of stuff like acting and my fashion but at the end of the day my true love has been and will always be tennis. I’m just so desperate to be on the court."
The hardwork of getting back into match shape began for Williams in November, but doctors told the former No.1 to not rush things in order to not have another setback with her knee.
"I’ve been on the court for awhile, but it’s just that some doctors were saying that I probably shouldn’t risk it to go to Australia because it was a tough surface also because it’s a little sticky," Williams said. "I got like four different opinions because I’m crazy about getting different opinions from different doctors. And they all said the same thing. So at the end of the day, I had to make a grown-up decision and not an immature decision and other than that I feel pretty good."
For the last few weeks, Williams said she has been on the court everyday making prepartions for her comeback, doing everything possible to see a return to the top of the tennis world.
"It definitely takes a lot (to get) back to the top," Williams said. "I think I’m definitely willing to put in the time and put in everything that I need to and I really, really am excited about getting back. It’s hard, it’s hard when you’re off for so long to put in the time but I feel that I’m at that point that I am definitely ready and able and willing."
Serena Returns to Action
It's been more than eight months since Serena Williams saw action in a professional tennis match, but the wait will be over shortly. The former World No.1 will return to action this week at the NASDAQ-100 Open in Miami - ending her long stint away from the game.
Williams last played at Wimbledon in July, where she successfully defended her title. Several weeks later she underwent an operation to repair a partial tear in her left knee that forced her to miss the remainder of the season.
"All day long I think about it," Williams said. "I’m really excited to get out there and play. I’m more excited than everyone else. As excited as everyone else is, I’m ten times more excited."
Nyolc hónap után tér vissza a többszörös Grand Slam bajnok
Serena Williams a jövő heti Nasdaq-100 Openen mutatkozik be ismét a teniszközönség előtt. Itt említjük meg, hogy versenyszerűen legutoljára tavaly Wimbledonban játszott, majd augusztusban térdműtéten esett át. Ennek és a lábadozásának következményeként, nem tudta megvédeni a bajnoki címét a US és az Australian Openen, valamint elveszítette világelsőségét is.
"Sokat jelent nekem az, hogy visszajöjjek, mivel nagyon fájt néznem, ahogy a többiek játszhatnak, én pedig nem tudok - mondta Williams, aki abban is bízik, hogy vissza tudja szerezni a világranglista első helyét Justine Henin-Hardennetől, annak ellenére, hogy azért elismerte, hogy ez azért időt vesz igénybe - Mindent bele akarok adni. Elképzelhető, hogy keményebben kell majd rádolgoznom, hogy újra világelső legyek, de úgy teszek, mintha ott lennék és nem szeretnék másik számot látni a nevem előtt. De ha nem lennék ennyire magabiztos abban, hogy vissza tudom szerezni a régi formámat, akkor nem is lenne értelme a visszatérésnek."
Serena Williams, who won twice in Paris in 1999 and 2003, will not play as she has not fully healed from her knee operation. The youngest Williams sister, now world n°4, has been away from courts since her win in Wimbledon. Last August 1, she underwent an operation because of a torn tendon of her left quadriceps, and unfortunately she is still suffering.
Sok minden a két belga, csak nem amatőr. Amikor Serena visszajön, nem hiszem hogy egyből topon lesz,
szvsz mindkét belgának több esélye lesz ellene mint eddig volt.
Ráadásul már ők is elég alaposan felvannak fizkálisan készítve. Főleg Henin.
"After missing half of last season and the first Grand Slam of the year following knee surgery, Serena will return to active competition at this year’s Open Gaz de France tournament in Paris. The tournament, which starts February 9th, will feature four of the top 10 women in the world"
