Wimbledon: Awesome return makes Serena Williams a threat

VICTORIA Azarenka is the world No 2, has been No 1, and is a grand slam champion, having won the Australian Open at the start of this year. But, at times during her 6-3, 7-5 semi-final defeat by Serena Williams yesterday, she looked like little more than a plucky underdog, such was the pitiless power of the American’s play.

Serena Williams defeats Victoria Azarenka 6-3 7-6 (8/6)

• Williams to face Agnieszka Radwanska in the final

The four-time Wimbledon winner is seeded just sixth, but as soon as she showed her mind was on the job this fortnight she became favourite to lift the title for a fifth time. If she does beat Agnieska Radwanska tomorrow – and that is a very small if – it will be Williams’s first grand slam title since she won here in 2010. But, if she continues to play as she is doing at present, it will be just a matter of months, not years, before she adds another.

Williams’s serve was a devastating weapon against the Belarusian, as one simple statistic shows: she had 24 aces to Azarenka’s one. That two dozen was one better than the Wimbledon record she set last Saturday against Jie Zheng, and it should be noted that Azarenka is an altogether finer player than the Chinese woman.

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What is more, although at times Williams has been over-reliant on that serve, and been relatively immobile, now her game is far more complete again. Yesterday her returning was almost as fearsome in its power and accuracy as her serve, forcing Azarenka to scuttle around in a desperate attempt to maintain some sort of foothold in the match.

The quality of those returns made the difference at the end of a bruising first set in which Williams took only minutes to get into top gear. She dropped two points on serve in the opening game, then none at all in her next three. Azarenka had some difficulty holding for 3-3, but two games later could do nothing to prevent her opponent from bludgeoning her way to a break. A simple hold later and the first set was Williams’s.

For a time the second set looked like being a swifter and more sadistic demolition, but after breaking early and going 3-1 ahead, Williams allowed her mind to wander. Azarenka broke back to level at 3-3, and played courageously just to keep the contest alive all the way to the tie-break. That was all she could do, however, and after letting one match point slip, Williams made no mistake with her second, booking a place in her seventh Wimbledon final with – what else? – an ace.

Azarenka deserves credit for throwing everything she had into the match; nonetheless, it was another example of the lack of real strength in depth in women’s tennis just now, and of the gulf between an on-form and in-the-mood Williams and just about everyone else. For the American it was little more than a gentle workout, and she had another one not long afterwards when partnering older sister Venus in the doubles.

The siblings, unseeded this year, beat tenth seeds and fellow-Americans Raquel Kops-Jones and Abigail Spears 6-1, 6-1. They are now through to the quarter-finals, where they can expect more spirited opposition from another American partnership, top seeds Liezel Huber and Lisa Raymond.

Azarenka was in doubles action later in the day, too, but suffered only further disappointment. She and Max Mirnyi lost 7-6, 6-3 to Leander Paes and Elena Vesnina, the fourth seeds.

If that defeat was rubbing salt into Azarenka’s wounds, Williams’s verdict on their match must have felt just as painful. While everyone watching on Centre Court was in awe of her power, the 30-year-old reckoned she had not played very well, and certainly was not aware of how many aces she was recording.

“During the match I thought I didn’t serve well,” she said. “I thought ‘Gosh, I got to get more first serves in’. I had absolutely no idea,” she continued when asked about setting that new record for aces. “It really didn’t feel like I hit 24 aces at all. I honestly felt like I hit maybe ten.”

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While she may not have a precise grasp of how impressive her statistics look, she is perfectly aware that she is doing a few things right. “I’m very proud of getting this far and being able to play that well,” she said. “I’m just trying to do the best that I can.”

Almost every competitor at Wimbledon could say that much. The difference with Williams is that her best is a whole lot better than the best of the rest.