Serena has advanced to the quarterfinals of the Family Circle Cup, by defeating Katarina Srebotnik 4-6, 6-4, 6-3 on Thursday. The 3 set match took 2 hours and 13 minutes. Serena will now face Maria Sharapova! This one should be VERY interesting.
Serena won her 2nd Round match (and 1st clay court match of the season) at the Family Circle Cup (Charleston, SC) by defeating Gisela Dulko in straight sets 6-3, 6-4 (in an hour and 19 minutes). Congratulations Serena!!
Maria Sharapova and Serena Williams sign Family Circle Cup memorabilia on Monday.
The May 2008 issue of TENNIS magazine is a special issue: "40 Years of Open Tennis: From Rod Laver to Roger Federer, We Celebrate the Players and Personalities Who Have Changed The Game." 
Call it hit-first, ask-no-questions-later, Venus and Serena went big on EVERY shot, not just the forehand. Serves, returns, backhands, swinging volleys - everything they did on the court was imbued with the desire to crush the ball. The competition could no longer sit back and wait for a mistake. The Williamses raised the bar by forcing their opponents to go for their shots or perish, a style of play that defines women's tennis today. " (The top picture of Serena from the 2004 French Open is the exact one used in the article).
Tired of checking / guessing to see if there is a new entry to the blog? Care to receive automatic notification of updates to this blog? If yes, then take advantage of the "newly added" RSS Feed feature (located on the sidebar beneath the Profile of a Champion). Click "Subscribe To My Blog."
Scroll the sidebar (to the right of the page) and you will find (beneath the "Serena Slideshow") Serena's updated 2008 Tournament Schedule. It looks mighty impressive and gives the vibe of a serious commitment towards regaining her #1 ranking. I'm loving it.
CHARLESTON, SC (April 10, 2008) – Serena Williams has been scheduled to compete in the feature match of the evening during the Family Circle Cup’s 35th Anniversary Kick-Off Celebration on Tuesday, April 15th. Justine Henin has been forced to withdraw from the Family Circle Cup due to a right knee inflammation. The Family Circle Cup is scheduled April 12th - 20th, 2008 at the Family Circle Tennis Center in Charleston, South Carolina.
The Williams soap opera: 
For years, Serena Williams's apologists have argued that little sis is the best player in the world. Forget what the rankings say. Never mind that she's a part-time player with one foot on the court and another in Hollywood. Pay no attention to whether she appears to be in shape. It doesn't matter. When Serena Williams decides to concentrate on tennis, so the apologists tell us, she will beat anyone, anywhere, anytime. 
THINGS SERENA ACCOMPLISHED IN MIAMI:
Q. How far back do you think you've come to your very best level? Is it possible to assess that or not?SERENA WILLIAMS: I think I'm ‑‑ you know, I'm doing more of the right things that I should be doing more. I feel like I have a little more variety in my game. I feel like I'm on the right track. I'm not there yet, and I feel like ‑‑ I've always said I feel like I've never reached my potential. I really want to get there.
Q. She (Jelena) said you looked nervous out there. Is that even possible considering you have been playing tennis your whole life?
SERENA WILLIAMS: I don't know if I was nervous. I know I got tight. I guess you can classify that as nervous. Normally I just close it out. I just didn't make the right shots. Then really though sometimes the wind, it was windy, and I just made the wrong ‑‑ I made the mistakes at the wrong time. Whether it was nerves or not, it was me definitely technically not doing everything I did and I was supposed to do in practice.
Q. Does it surprise you to get tight, Serena? Is that something you don't expect from yourself?
SERENA WILLIAMS: No, I get tight often. My forearm gets a little locked up. I've gotten tight in a couple of matches, but I usually get over it and get through it.
Q. You get distracted?
SERENA WILLIAMS: Yes.
Q. The fact that you still get tight in a match like this even after all your wins and all your experiences, is that a reflection of your desire level at this point?
SERENA WILLIAMS: I definitely think it's a reflection on my desire level. Especially now I feel like all I want to do is play tennis, and all I want to do is be the best and win. My whole life is dedicated to nothing but tennis. I've been working so hard, and I feel like everything will come together in time. Sometimes when it doesn't come together I get frustrated, but I feel like it's not going to be in vain. So I definitely think that the fact that I do get tight or get ‑‑ I did get tight, you know. I think everyone gets tight at some point. But the fact that I did today, I feel that it definitely ‑‑ you can definitely see my desire and my dedication.
Serena has defeated Jelena Jankovic 6-1, 5-7, 6-3. With this win Serena ties Steffi Graf's record of winning the Sony Ericsson Open 5 times! Serena DOMINATEDthe 1st set, blinked in the 2nd set and slammed the door (after some shaky play and a slew of errors) in the 3rd and final set. Serena had many chances to close out the match and she FINALLY converted on Championship Point #8! (At one point she even smashed her racquet in disgust). All in all, Serena came up with the goods when it mattered most. Even though Serena won this match, her ranking will drop to #10. (Crazy, I know). Serena also leveled the head-to-head match up with Jelena (3-3). On the road to the title Serena dispatched the #1 player in the world (Justine Henin), the #3 (Jelena Jankovic) and the #4 (Svetlana Kuznetsova). The computer may rank Serena at #9 or #10 but we KNOW better!
Williams survived some shaky play down the stretch and an improbable comeback by Jankovic, who trailed 5-3 in the second set. Williams closed out the elusive victory on her eighth championship point with an overhead slam. "It definitely got tough," Williams said during the trophy ceremony. "I think maybe I got a little tight and put too much pressure on myself." 
Williams arrived at Key Biscayne a trimmer player, thanks to a recent rigorous training regimen, and needed to be in top condition in the 2½-hour final. Both players held up well in the 85-degree sunshine, and some of their best rallies -- one lasting 26 shots -- came in the final few games. Williams, who grew up in nearby Palm Beach Gardens, also won the tournament in 2002-04 and 2007. "The Serena and Steffi Open," Williams said. "I love Steffi Graf. She's a great champion and was my role model. To even be compared to her is awesome."
Williams improved to 14-1 this year, with her only loss to Jankovic in the quarterfinals at the Australian Open. At first it appeared the final might not last an hour. Williams dominated for a set and a half, and she was three points from victory in the second set when she began spraying nervous shots, while Jankovic started to play better. Williams lost her serve at love for 5-all, then double-faulted to lose set point and forced a third set.
"I was thinking, 'Maybe she's going to be nice to me,'" Jankovic said. Even the pro-Williams crowd applauded the dogged effort by Jankovic, who had rallied from a 5-1 deficit in the third set and there was more drama to come. Angered by her lapse, Williams raced to a 5-0 lead in the third set but again wavered. She had her first championship point in the next game, another at 5-1 and three more at 5-2. Williams twice exhorted herself with screams but lost that game, then slammed her racket against the concrete and sent it skipping into the side wall, which drew jeers from the crowd.
Jankovic saved two more match points in the next game before Williams closed out the victory with her 51st winner. She also had 52 errors. "She was just too strong," Jankovic said. "She's a great champion. All the credit to her." Williams, who improved to 47-5 at Key Biscayne, won $590,000. Jankovic received $295,675.
WHAT A FIGHT! A 3-set Thriller! After losing the first set, Serena storms back to defeat Svetlana Kuznetsova 3-6, 7-5, 6-3. The match last 2 hours and 47 minutes! Serena had 45 winners, 45 unforced errors, 3 double faults and 13 aces. She had a 60% First Serve percentage. During the 1st Set, Serena called for the trainer (medical timeout) for an issue she was having with her back. Serena will now (on Saturday) compete for her 5th Sony Ericsson Open Title. If Serena wins the final, she will not only retain her position inside the Top 10, but also tie Steffi Graf’s record of five singles titles in Miami.
Williams made the world's top-ranked woman look like a beginner, beating nemesis Justine Henin 6-2, 6-0 in the quarterfinals of the Sony Ericsson Open. Williams won the final 10 games Tuesday by playing nearly flawless tennis, while Henin unraveled after she double-faulted three times to fall behind 4-2.
During her post-match news conference, an exchange regarding Williams' fitness left the room in laughter.
