Serena Williams defeated Venus Williams 6-4, 6-3 to reach the Wimbledon quarterfinals. Three thoughts on the outcome:
1. Most great tennis players are known for one shot they hit better than any other. For Serena Williams, that’s her serve. But in watching these greats over two-week stretches at the Slams, we often see the other shots they’re (extremely) skilled in. For Serena Williams, that’s her backhand.
Serena’s compact take-back—followed by a vicious follow-through—makes her two-hander ideal for grass-court combat. She used it to great effect today against her sister. It helped minimize the impact of Venus’ best shot, her serve, in such a way that it essentially decided the match. Serena won half of all her return points (Venus, by comparison won just 27 percent of hers). That’s a massive percentage, and it put even more pressure on Venus to hold serve. She failed to do so four times.
Serena’s backhand was also a game-changer in rallies. The exchanges were beautifully brutal—any opportunity that presented itself was taken, and usually the result was a winner. Serena struck 36 of those (Venus had 15), many with her backhand. Hit crosscourt or down the line, the Serena’s backhands sounded like leftover firecrackers from the Fourth of July. In total, she recorded 11 backhand winners (against 10 backhand errors) to seven forehand winners. There’s a lot more to this match-up than just numbers, but statistics like that can’t be ignored.