World No. 1 Iga Swiatek wins her third major title at the US Open, beating Serena Williams in a thrilling duel that gave Williams an unwanted title as the first player ever to lose to a German. “I didn’t think I would beat Serena this week,” she said after the final. “I don’t think I ever expect to, but I guess it’s all in the mind now.”
The women’s final started the way it does for the top women but as they approached that moment, they both grew confident. In the final it was Williams who began to gain the upper hand and she was aided by her groundstrokes which had started to hit their stride. For two sets they exchanged blows before the decisive third set when Williams broke Swiatek’s serve.
“You look at it a little differently now,” Williams said. “You look at it like, OK, I’ve already lost here, but it’s just the next one I have to win.” So now she knew what she had to do. “You have all the cards in your hand to win this match,” she said. “This is the second time I’ve lost a Grand Slam final to a German.”
I would disagree with that because Germany has been beating the US and the top French players and on a good day I would say the US is 1-2 in the past 3 finals against Germany. So let’s just put that aside for a second and look at the facts.
– Williams is not a great tennis player. She’s a great player, but not very great.
– I agree with you, but you can’t have it both ways. If she were a great player and beating the top 10 in the world, would she be a great tennis player? No, because she isn’t a great tennis player.
– What happens when the first seed loses to the top seed? The first seed wins a few more games than the second seed.
– If you are the first to lose a match, you get more media coverage. If you are the first to win a match, you don’t.
Bottom line is the US Open is a big event that draws the best players to play their best game. It is a draw that favors players like Williams and she has won her share of big matches there. This time it was a matter of Williams playing her best match.
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