Serena Williams: Redefining perfection

Serena Williams of the US holds the trophy as she celebrates her win over Victoria Azarenka of Belarus after their 2013 US Open women’s singles final match

What do you call a fighter who is brutally ruthless, intensely passionate and utterly dominative?

The answer is Serena Williams.

For even at 32, when most players contemplate hanging up the racquet, Serena is still seeking avenues to re-invent and improvise her game, fortifying her armoury and constantly motivating herself. The results are there for all to see. Brandishing her racquet like a sledgehammer and evoking fear in her opponents, Serena embarked on a journey to gift herself her most successful season compiling 78 wins at the expense of just 4 losses.

Just like fine wine, Serena is getting better with age. She was always terrific, but now, she is absolutely phenomenal.

It’s that innate desire to excel that sets her apart from others. Which is why, in 2013 she set some unprecedented marks – becoming the oldest World No. 1, being the oldest women’s US Open champion in the Open Era as well as the oldest WTA Championships winner.

A notably remarkable change that she has brought in off late in her 18-year professional career is the projection of a placid and tranquil self on the court – a far cry from her days of emotional outbursts. And that surely is a crucial factor in Serena’s mind-boggling success as she herself points out, “Recently I realized that the more calm I am, the more at peace I am, the more relaxed I am, I tend to play a lot better.”

Perhaps the realization stems from the horrendous experience that she had back in 2010-11 health-wise when she was forced out of the Tour for 11 months. It began with cutting her foot on glass and then suffering from pulmonary embolism and subsequently having to undergo surgery for hematoma.

Coming back from the life-threatening situation, Serena definitely learnt to be more free and enjoy her tennis thoroughly and it toughened her up even further.

“I have been through so much the past few years and I thought, if anything, it was a great story not only for me but for everyone just to realize that it doesn’t matter what happens to you as a person, that if you just keep going and you never give up — I mean, people say this all the time, but really if you just fight again, you can have an opportunity to survive.”

Never give up – that’s the mantra and that’s what she has applied even when she hit the nadir in her Grand Slam career in 2012 when she crashed out of the first round in Paris. The heart-breaking loss dimmed her spirit temporarily but the fighter in Serena awoke to ready herself for the bigger duels awaiting her.

Striking a partnership with Patrick Mouratoglou, the American mounted a comeback from the lowest ebb of her career to reach the highest pinnacle. The partnership immediately delivered five titles that included the Wimbledon, the US Open, the Olympic gold and the WTA Championship crowns. And she had just one loss for the rest of the year!

Most importantly, Serena looked happy, composed and totally at ease on the court. And that signalled a devastatingly brilliant 2013 for her and portended obvious danger signs for her rivals.

What was striking about her 2013 season was her supreme consistency. A Serena who had a reputation of being stupendous in Grand Slams and inexplicably fading away in the lesser tournaments was dominating almost every tournament that she entered in 2013. Even the four losses that she had went to three sets, thus validating that she made her opponent’s life difficult before finally surrendering.

Two losses in two consecutive tournaments in the early part of the year in the Australian Open and in Doha couldn’t knock her off her perch. Rather the defeats invigorated her for the rest of the year. The greatest thing about Serena is that instead of fleeing from her greatest adversaries in life, she inspired herself to confront them and ultimately pierce through them.

Serena Williams celebrates winning her Women’s Singles Final match against Maria Sharapova of Russia at Roland Garros at the French Open

Clay and the French Open had traditionally been a sticky wicket for her, but expect Serena Williams to pinpoint her mistakes, learn from them and never repeat them. And she had extra motivation this time – she was eager to obliterate those harrowing memories from a year ago in Paris. Thus when she entered the clay stretch after triumphs in Brisbane and Miami, she was riding on supreme confidence and steely determination that flattened everything standing in her way.

Adding more topspin to her shots, moving better than ever and rallying tirelessly Serena mastered the clay like never before.

She stood like a wall on the courts with her defence absolutely impregnable. It’s this amazing motivation and insatiable hunger that she has even 14 years since winning her first singles Grand Slam that propels her to reach even greater heights today. And that spurred her on to complete a dream clay season where she waltzed to four titles in Charleston, Madrid, Rome and ultimately the biggest of them all, the French Open.

That was perhaps her most satisfying triumph of the season as that prestigious crown came back to her after a gap of 11 years.

A jolt came on the other side of the English Channel in the form of a fourth-round exit at Wimbledon that snapped her 34-match winning streak. But that couldn’t deter her from delivering her best for the remainder of the year. She picked up her racquet and marched on to her first ever international-level title at Bastad on clay and surged on to a memorable campaign on the US hardcourts that saw her emerge victorious at Toronto and reach the Cincinnati final.

At Flushing Meadows, Victoria Azarenka’s dogged persistence proved insufficient in a dramatic final as Serena clinched her fifth US Open title and her 17th major overall.

Post Grand Slam season, the World No. 1’s motivation didn’t diminish one bit as she triumphed yet again in Beijing despite a back problem flaring up in the summit clash. Resilient as always, she fought through extreme fatigue as she arrived at her last tournament of the year, the elite WTA Championships but the results remained unaltered. Without losing a single match, the imperious 32-year-old captured the 11th and final title of an astounding season.

There’s no stopping Serena Williams as she herself has revealed her ambition of not slowing down. It’s marvellous to see how Serena who won her first Slam at 17, still remains a force to reckon with at 32. She is a shining example of how far selfless dedication and undying spirit can take someone.

Her coach, Patrick Mouratoglou summed it up the best, “She’s a real champion. It’s not about the strokes, it’s about what you have inside – and she has something really special inside.”

And we are indeed privileged to be witnessing the amazing journey of this special lady.