Serena

Wow. Let's all be inspired by Serena Williams. As some of you know, I love tennis. I love to play and I love to watch tennis. And Serena hasnt been doing all that great the last couple of years. In between her (and Venus') fashion line, her guest spots on various tv shows, the murder of her half-sister Yetunde, a knee injury and depression, she stopped being the dominant force in women's tennis a couple of years ago. In the 2006 season, she played all of 4 matches and winning a Grand Slam was a distant memory. So she comes into the Australian Open, in January 2007, ranked #81 in the world, and she forces wins in the first few rounds. She somehow manages to squeak a win in the quarters when she was two points from losing. But she won. She's out of shape, about 10 lbs heavier than her prime weight, she's not moving very well especially up and down the court (which is why weight is an issue even for someone muscular and compact like Serena). But she won.

And she gets to the finals against Maria Sharapova, ranked #1 in the world. This is an important match but not just because it's the finals. Venus and Serena's dominance ended (with the exception of Venus' awe-inspiring run to win Wimbledon in '05) when then 17 yr old Maria Sharapova demolished Serena at the 2004 Wimbledon finals. For a few years, the two had pretty much ran roughshod over the competition. In any situation, there are paradigm changers. In women's tennis, we can take a look at people like Martina Navratilova who really brought speed and fitness to the game and Monica Seles who initiated the hard-hitting, baseline power game. Venus and Serena, a decade after Monica's dominance and recalibration of the game, took that power game to its ultimate level and outgunned everyone else. The sisters got distracted (fashion lines, tv shows) and everyone caught up. By the time Serena rolled into the 2004 Wimbeldon finals, there was a new guard and Serena was caught off hers. I remember watching that match and Maria Sharapova was so focused, so determined, Serena may as well have been playing on another court.

And I'll remember watching tonight's match. Serena was amazing. 6-1, 6-2. She didn't give Maria an inch in the match. Completely focused and determined. Some tennis writers- like Justin Gimelstob, pro-tennis player turned occasional SI tennis columnist- argue that the women's game lacks depth when Serena, ranked #81 in the world, can steamroll through Top 10 players and make it to final of a majors. I think he's wrong. (And a little bit sexist. The male sportsreader on TSN just said this same exact thing and his fellow dickhead laughed.) Roger Federer has dominated the men's field the last two years. It doesnt mean the other guys in the top 5- Nadal, Davydenko, Ljubicic and Blake- are without talent and sleeping on the job. No. It means Roger's really that good. No one ever says the men's game is lacking in depth when Roger wins 6 of the last 8 majors. Why not call Serena's win a comeback? Why not attribute it to her guts and perseverance and the vicious desire of a former champion who wants to be one again? Why indict a whole sport and its female players? I think there's considerable depth and talent in the women's game. I take Serena, ranked #81 in the world beating the competition, and then dismantling the #1 player in the world, as a sign that Chris Evert may be right. Serena may be the best women's tennis player ever. The first few rounds, yes, it was pure guts. You could see Serena wanted to win. She just wanted it. Bad. In the finals? You saw her talent.

Now imagine her 10 lbs lighter and faster? I hope Venus is watching and taking notes and making plans for her comeback.

And let's use this as both instruction and inspiration. Whatever we do, whatever we want, we gotta want it.

Bad. As bad as Serena.