Serena Williams tuvo que demostrar una vez más que es una de las mejores en la historia del tenis…especialmente después de sus 22 titulos de Grand Slam, para muchos no hay discusión.
Y es que la numero uno del mundo tuvo que hacer gala de su madurez, fuerza mental y categoria como tenista para evitar una de las grandes frustraciones en segunda ronda del abierto de Wimbledon, enfrentando a la numero 65 del mundo su compatriota Christina McHale, la que gano el primer set 7-6….entonces los asistentes a la cancha centra del All England Club, pudieron observar a la numero uno en toda su dimension…
Serena remonto y gano los dos sets siguientes con parciales de 6-2 y 6-4 para terminar imponiendose en dos horas y 29 minutos y avanzar asi a la tercera ronda del abierto de Wimbledon.
Is Williams the greatest player in the history of the women’s game? Until she puts herself level with Steffi Graf’s modern-era record of 22 Grand Slam titles, which she might still do this fortnight, that’s still under discussion. But here’s what is already settled – that tennis has never seen a finer escapologist than this 34-year-old from California.
Certainly, there was no shortage of grass court jeopardy for Williams on Centre Court during this pulsating, second-round three-setter, with the defending champion and world No.1 dropping the opening set to McHale, an opponent ranked world No.65 and ninth in the United States. She also found herself a break down in the third set.
Some angst and drama had been expected from Williams during her trip to south-west London. Also scheduled at some stage in The Championships were those great stentorian cries that carry up the hill, past St Mary’s Church and rattle the tea cups in Wimbledon Village.
What wasn’t expected was that they would come in a match against McHale, in a match that lasted a minute under two and a half hours. To win, Williams had to go into «warrior-mode».
«Mentally, no one can break me,» Williams said after her 6-7(7), 6-2, 6-4 victory, so swerving what would have been one of the greatest upsets in the history of the All England Club, or indeed the entire tennis map.