2019 US Open Final: Bianca Andreescu vs. Serena Williams

[herios]

I am very proud of our Canadian young lady. She is. She brings a breath of fresh air to tennis.
Her mental toughness is something else. Bravo girl!

 

[GameSetAndMath]

Unlike other girls (say Osta, Barty, etc), I expect Bianca to back it up.

I believe she will win at least one GS next year.

 

[Andy22]

Well done Andreescu on winning her first grand slam title in Andreescu first USO, I don't watch women's tennis like I do men's game but even I know Andreescu been the best womens player so far, sad of Williams hopefully she get more chances.

 

[GameSetAndMath]

IMO, this is the most important moment of the match.

There was a game that took over 10 minutes and Serena eventually held after saving a bunch of break points.

Typically, the other player is too focused on their missed chances and cough up a break, due to purely mental reasons.

BA actually was about to do that and let Serena back into the match. But, she did not and saved the BP.

I think that was probably the most important point of the match, at least in retrospect.

 

[britbox]

Big kudos to Bianca.

Women's tennis is as strong as I've ever known it for depth.

 

[Andy22]

Andreescu most likely goes into Australian open as favourite to win good for her could could get number one soon.

 

[10isfan]

Front, I hate cheaters as much as you do. I will cheer against MS in every match until she retires (which can’t be soon enough). However, I’m an engineer/scientist by training, and think it’s possible that the evidence you cite above can have a cause other than PED use. I don’t believe Serena is dumb enough to jeopardize her legacy by cheating. I think she is an outlier in terms of genetics, a supreme athlete who can accomplish these feats without chemicals.

 

[kskate2]

Bianca photo shoot

 

[MargaretMcAleer]

Bianca photo shoot
View attachment 2729

Such a beautiful young woman.

 

[isabelle]

congrats to Bianca, happy about her well deserved triumph

 

[the AntiPusher]

so what's Serena gonna say in this presser

KS, one fact that has been a common denominator in all of these last 4 Grandslam finals is Serena hasn't won a set.. Afterwards Serena's serve, one of her best attributes as a competitor is her ability to problem solve. Yes, she is getting older and her nerves are quite different now because she is also.a mother. It's gonna take a little bit more commitment than 2 weeks prior to a major to get her an opportunity to really study all her possible opponents because they're reading the book on.her game extremely well these days.

 

[MargaretMcAleer]

KS, one fact that has been a common denominator in all of these last 4 Grandslam finals is Serena hasn't won a set.. Afterwards Serena's serve, one of her best attributes as a competitor is her ability to problem solve. Yes, she is getting older and her nerves are quite different now because she is also.a mother. It's gonna take a little bit more commitment than 2 weeks prior to a major to get her an opportunity to really study all her possible opponents because they're reading the book on.her game extremely well these days.

I have to agree with some of your post,I know being a mother is a full time job in itself,being a tennis player and playing on the tour is hard enough,though with a child it is harder.In saying that Serena to me,needs to play the tour not on a part time basis,but more full time.This year Serena has picked up more injuries,given her age it has taken longer to get over them.Serena still has that competitive spirit and love for the game,it will be interesting to see her overall commitment to the tour in 2020.

 

[tenisplayrla08]

The more I think about Serena's failures in the finals I just chock them up to nerves and poor serving. And slow starts. Serena has been a slow starter for a while. But she's been able to come back after she warms up, often, within the first set. But now when she starts slow, it takes even longer for her to find her game and by then it's too late. At least against the very best. Especially if the nerves don't go away.

Anyways. I guess all I'm saying is, I agreed with the argument, early on, that Serena needed to play more warm ups to be ready for the slams and win them. But I'm just not sure we can keep making that argument. Not after a 4th grand slam final in 2 years. Something no one else has even come close to. Halep has won 2. Osaka has won 2. Seeing as they both beat other grand slam champions in those finals and both beat Serena, obviously their wins count more than her 4 finals. But they still didn't get to 4 finals. Serena has now defended the 2 finals she went to last year. That's basically unheard of unless your name is Serena, Graf, Evert, Navratilova, Seles, Federer, Nadal, Djokovic, Sampras, or Borg. And a couple others. And she did it at 37. Yes she lost them. But while she sits at #9 in the rankings now, she's clearly still one of the .... what do we say... 4 best players on the planet? 3? 5? At Wimbledon and the US Open she's been the second best player in the draw for 2 years running. So I'm not sure we can actually say that she has to play more warmups to win these things. Though. She did play Toronto. Surely that helped. But to me, her lossed in these finals is, great opponents for one. But nerves. It just has to be nerves. Just as she struggled to win her 18th slam, she's letting the tying Court idea get to her. And since she's older now and has been through pregnancy and birth and nearly died after the birth, it's a bit harder. So even though she's made the finals, which she didn't do in the 3 she lost between 17 and 18, it's taking her a bit longer to get number 24.

Obviously I want Serena to play more warmups. But I mean. The woman has all the money she needs. She doesn't expect that she can play as much as she needs to in order to be number 1 in the world. And the slams have always been the only thing she cares about. Playing more raises her risk of injury. And injuries have been her biggest problem her entire career. Her only real rivalry of her career is against injuries. And she's even come out on top in that one. You can't blame her for wanting to keep that risk to a minimum. And to spend time with her young family. It's the same thing with her that it is with Fed. The desire is still there. But it is diminished. There are other, higher priorities now. And we're lucky they're still here playing at all. So if she continues to skip the warmups, that's her choice. I'm betting she'll get number 24 and probably number 25 either way. And maybe.... another Olympic medal. Maybe not gold. But a medal is certainly possible.

 

[MargaretMcAleer]

Another important factor for me is that Serena who has the best serve in women's tennis.in the final,let her down in crucial points in the match.Serena could always use her serve when facing BPs.it was always reliable.,not in this final.,maybe it was the pressure she felt or nerves.When you look at her s/final match she served well.Also I could not believe the DFs she had in the final.not like Serena at all.

The courts at the AO to me,suit Serena better.Also there is conjecture the courts will play faster next year at the AO.

 

[tenisplayrla08]

Unlike other girls (say Osta, Barty, etc), I expect Bianca to back it up.

I believe she will win at least one GS next year.

I'm not sure you can say Barty hasn't backed it up. It's been 2 slams since she won the French. Not 2 and half years. And she didn't come out of nowhere. Like Ostapenko did. And 2 R16s at the 2 slams since isn't terrible, even if it's not great. Which, for that matter. Ostapenko made the quarters at Wimbledon right after winning the French and the semis there last year too. And made the final of Miami last year. This year has been dismal. But she hasn't been completely useless. My point is, we can't define "backing it up" strictly as winning another slam. Especially in such a short amount of time. Because then there's the fact that both are still young.

I think they are all likely to keep winning slams. Even Ostapenko. Andreescu has only proven herself on the hard courts. So we'll see how she does in Australia and then how she handles the clay and grass. While I think Andreescu is brilliant, I think the likelihood that we get the same woman winning the US Open and the AO back to back in 2 straight years is small. Even if Andreescu hasn't actually lost a match (without retiring) since ... what, February? And it's not like Osaka died. She'll have something to say about Andreescu dominating. As will Serena. And Halep (just made AO final 2 years ago). And Barty. And all the other great players on the tour. The depth is insane. The streakiness is insane for sure. But the depth is part of the reason for that.

On that front, about the WTA being streaky, not one of the champions or finalists from ALL of the slams since Serena won her last slam (AO 2017) made the QUARTERS of this US Open, except Serena. This was true at Wimbledon as well, except you have to include Halep of course. More than half of them are struggling. Stephens, Kerber, Ostapenko, Muguruza, Wozniacki, Kvitova, Venus. All in serious slumps or dealing with injuries off and on. Halep, Barty and Osaka all just faltered this time around. Halep got to the second round, which is better than the last 2 years here for her (lost to Sharapova and Kanepi in those first rounders though, hardly easy first rounders; Halep avenged her loss to Kanepi in the first round of the AO this year, her next slam match). And Barty and Osaka almost got there with trips to the 4th round. But Osaka losing to Bencic for the second or third time this year was not even remotely surprising. I did expect Barty to deal with Wang though. But, after Barty lost to Riske at Wimbledon, you have to wonder if she is nervous about meeting Serena. Of course, Halep and Osaka account for 4 of the wins since Serena's last win (and Halep accounts for another final, AO 2018). So that's part of it. But it's also just depth. And... that Konta and Svitolina can't get passed the semis. They are the only 2 ladies to make 3 quarters at the slams this year with Serena. So there is a modicum of consistency at the slams this year. Serena, Svitolina and Konta. Halep a bit. She made the quarters at the French in addition to her Wimbledon win. Barty is the only other player to make 2 quarterfinals this year (AO, FO). So despite not winning any slams, Serena actually won more slam matches this year than anyone.

 

[tenisplayrla08]

Another important factor for me is that Serena who has the best serve in women's tennis.in the final,let her down in crucial points in the match.Serena could always use her serve when facing BPs.it was always reliable.,not in this final.,maybe it was the pressure she felt or nerves.When you look at her s/final match she served well.Also I could not believe the DFs she had in the final.not like Serena at all.

The courts at the AO to me,suit Serena better.Also there is conjecture the courts will play faster next year at the AO.

I spent the entire final thinking about how Serena served over 100 aces to win Wimbledon in 2012. She needs her serve so much. It doesn't mean the rest of her shots aren't up to par. But against someone who is serving well, like Andreescu was in the final, it's not going to be enough if her serve isn't clicking. Not that anything else was working. Her forehand was off. Her backhand didn't hold up great. She didn't move well for stretches of games (again, the nerves. Had to be the nerves.) Her serve was the problem at Wimbledon against Halep as well I thought. She's relied on it for so long to get her over the hump. To get her out of sticky situations. Because there have always been sticky situations. But it's just not there like it used to be. Which. It was funny that she started the match with an ace. And then served so poorly the rest of the match.

I agree that the AO has, outside of Wimbledon, long been her best shot at winning a slam. I think she would have won it this year if she didn't blow her lead against Pliskova. I was looking for her to meet up with Osaka and play better and get revenge. But I think instead she didn't believe she could beat Osaka and that's why she blew the lead against Pliskova. So maybe Osaka would have won either way. We'll see next year.

 

[GameSetAndMath]

Also I could not believe the DFs she had in the final.not like Serena at all.

Statistically, they tally up DFs into UFE. But, those DFs were not UFE.

BA was returning Serena's serves very deep causing trouble for Serena. So, Serena had the feeling that she had to come up with really good serves (either in pace or in placement) and that pressure actually caused her to make those DFs.

 

[MargaretMcAleer]

I did say Serena felt the pressure in the match.....also nerves which can cause the DFs..BTW I Did Watch The Match.

I would like to add,.Serena's serve is not as good since she has had her baby.I think most people would agree with me.

 

[Vince Evert]

I did say Serena felt the pressure in the match.....also nerves which can cause the DFs..BTW I Did Watch The Match.

I would like to add,.Serena's serve is not as good since she has had her baby.I think most people would agree with me.

She looked passive until she was down 1-5 second set, but not as bad as the wimbly final.

 

[Vince Evert]

Congrats to Bianca. I wanna see a Bianca vs Ashleigh final sometime soon, if not the AUSTRALIAN OPEN.