As the second set between Serena Williams and Li Na progressed today, I thought I had a good opening joke for this Racquet Reaction: “At least the chair umpire was on her game today.” A few minutes later, naturally, the umpire made an incorrect overrule. Apparently, she couldn't escape the vortex of the frustrating, rhythmless, error-filled match she was refereeing.
Despite struggling with her consistency, her serve, and her emotions, Williams moved to 2-0 in Istanbul with a 7-6 (2), 6-3 win. Yesterday, against Angelique Kerber, Serena mostly covered up the rust that had accumulated during two months on the sidelines. Today it showed. For the second straight match, she had to survive without her biggest weapon, her serve, for long stretches. She made just 49 percent of her first deliveries and was broken four times in the first set.
The story was worse for Li. It’s hard to remember now, but she was sharp to start this match. She went up 4-1 in the first and was beating Serena with depth from the ground, and returns belted straight up the middle. But just as Williams looked ready to explode—at 1-3, she cracked her racquet on the court—Li imploded instead. With Serena reeling at 1-4, Li handed her an easy hold with four straight unforced errors. It never got better for Li from there, as first her forehand, and then her backhand, and then her serve deserted her. At the end of the first set, when her early lead had vanished, Li looked to her coach, Carlos Rodriguez, and shouted, “Now what?” Welcome to the family, Carlos.
Serena said afterward that she’ll have to play better to beat her next round-robin opponent, Victoria Azarenka. But the news wasn’t all bad for Williams. She played solid tennis when it mattered, in the first-set tiebreaker, and she got her serve on track in the second set. She used it to fend off a break point at 4-2.
Still, Serena saved her best, most appropriate, move for last. Just before giving the crowd her signature victory wave-and-twirl, she rolled her eyes. The combination said it all.