Venus rebounds from lapses to close out plucky Falconi on Ashe

NEW YORK—When Irina Falconi walked onto the court last night, the world No. 73 was playing on Arthur Ashe Stadium for just the second time in her career. Her opponent, two-time U.S. Open champion Venus Williams, was playing in the Big Apple’s coliseum for the 32nd time—and that’s just her night-match total.

So while Williams owned great advantages in height (nine inches) and accomplishments (696 wins and 46 titles compared to 255 wins and zero titles), where the 35-year-old had the greatest advantage was in experience: You don’t win seven Grand Slam singles titles—and play more matches on Arthur Ashe Stadium than some pros play in a career—without it.

That experience surely helped Williams rebound after twice failing to serve out the match in the second set. The second-rounder took her longer than she would have liked, two hours and 18 minutes, but she walked out a winner, 6-3, 6-7 (2), 6-2.

Falconi walked out in tears, but they weren’t tears of sadness.

“I was emotional leaving the court,” Falconi said. “Cried the whole time after that standing ovation.”

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It’s a lot louder than you would expect courtside in Ashe. There’s a constant murmur in the surrounding crowd, which seems more amplified than ever thanks to the new roof creating a semi-dome. Roger Federer and Andy Murray said so themselves. http://www.tennis.com/pro-game/2015/09/less-wind-more-sound-partial-roof-arthur-ashe-stadium-say-players/56136/#.Veh8B7TjN8M The occasional rumble from a passing Long Island Railroad train adds to the density of sound. All of that noise was distracting to Falconi, while Williams looked like she was walking into another day at the office.

Williams is long legs, swinging volleys, and power—all of which is plainly visible up close—while Falconi is touch shots, slices, and angles. As the contrast began to play itself out, Williams quickly jumped ahead, 4-1. Her big serves, often registering in excess of 110 M.P.H., and even bigger forehands kept Falconi from finding her range early on. But as the 5’4” Falconi began to lengthen the points and vary up her shot selection, she began to claw back, winning the next two games.

“I was really impressed with those dropshot returns off [the] serve,” Williams said about Falconi’s repertoire. “It was insane. Just great hands.”

But it remained a tightrope walk for Falconi—any short or high balls from her racquet gave Williams the green light to pound winners into the corners. The seasoned veteran showed no mercy in closing out the first set, and appeared to have the match in the bag at 5-4 in the second. But she opened the game with two double faults, and Falconi earned break point soon after.

“There was a moment where it was a big point and I look up and she’s about to serve and the crowd went wild,” Falconi said. “And I stopped and I looked around and I thought, this is awesome.”

From that critical juncture, Falconi played her most inspired tennis of the evening. She hit a couple of key touch shots, including a sly low volley winner at deuce in the 12th game. Williams failed to serve out the match at 5-4 and 6-5, and Falconi took advantage of the lapses, pulling out the tiebreaker to force an unlikely third set.

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The crowd, and Falconi, was revitalized. But experience eventually trumped enthusiasm. The No. 23 seed hit 22 errors in the second set, but gave little away in the third, flying out to a 4-1 lead and, this time, serving out the match without trouble. Williams hit just 10 errors in the decider and broke Falconi three times.

“You win the second set in a breaker and it’s easy to deflate,” Falconi said about the third set. “My coach asked if I was rushing, but I just though don't let it sneak away from you. She's experienced, she won't give it to you.”

Still, it was a moment Falconi won’t forget, just like her first match on Ashe, in 2011, when she upset 14th seed Dominika Cibulkova. Williams had something to do with that match, too—her last-minute withdrawal forced a court change, giving Falconi the opportunity to play in the world’s biggest tennis stadium.

Four years later, Falconi returned to Ashe, and for a while entertained the idea of another surprising result. Williams also needed three sets to win her first-round match against Monica Puig, which she had difficulty closing out. “[I’m] just playing the third set really well,” said Williams. “Playing the first set well and the third set well, and almost finishing in the second.”

The third set has been a charm for Williams, but if she’s given the chance to close out her next opponent, the rapidly rising Belinda Bencic, in straight sets, she’d be wise to do so.