Sport
Serena Williams defeats Lucie Safarova and wins the French Open 2015
So the most meaningful question leading into the final against Safarova, a 28-year-old lefty with a whip-like forehand who was making her Slam final debut in her 40th major appearance, was this: How healthy would Williams be?
She began providing answers from the get-go on a sunny afternoon.
Williams closed the first game with an untouchable groundstroke winner, followed by a 194 kph (120 mph) ace. As if to prove her timing on returns was just fine, too, she pounded a 104 mph (167 kph) serve with a cross-court forehand so powerful and precise that Safarova didn’t bother to step toward the ball, watching the winner sail by for a break that made it 3-1 after 13 minutes.
Williams led 4-1 in the second set, then began to falter. Coughing between points, she double-faulted twice in a row to get broken for the first time, then double-faulted again to make it 4-all. When Safarova, now more confident in her strokes, held moments later, she led 5-4.
Safarova stood strong in the tiebreaker and grabbed the first two games of the final set, displaying the sort of strokes she used to beat past champions Maria Sharapova and Ana Ivanovic on the way to the final.
Only two women in the Open era of professional tennis, which began in 1968, played in more majors than Safarova before winning a trophy. As soon as Safarova made things interesting enough Saturday to perhaps begin thinking about putting her name on that short list, Williams quickly regained control.
Source: Associated Press
