Interestingly, in Miami, Serena has about the same playlist as in Australia, only in the opposite order: there were Peer, Vaidishova, Sharapova, and now it's the other way around. So far, Serena doesn’t care what order to drive recent rivals into the asphalt. First she drove Masha, then Nicole, now Shahar is next in line.
Judging by the score - 3: 6, 6: 2, 8: 6, Serena had the most problems in Australia with Peer. Then the younger Williams game went through a stump deck. Apparently, she was not in the mood for the match and did not expect such obstinacy from the brave Israeli bambina. We all know who Shakhar Peer is, the same tennis player whose Svetlana Kuznetsova cannot win a single match. But this was not familiar to Serena: she rarely happens on tour, probably, and did not hear such a name - Peer. But now, Williams is unlikely to be specially tuned for the match. Such is Serena - she must win, and the point. Well, maybe a little more careful. The semi-finals will surely turn out to be difficult: the Shahar probably holds in his head that Australian matchball against Serena, and this should give her strength. Anyway, the Shahar will starve anyone. However, the outcome of the match is still visible, so it is not difficult to assume the appearance of Serena in the final.
In the other half of the grid, until the last moment we had hoped for Nadezhda Petrova. Just because several intrigues were set up on it in Miami at once, so kind to the heart of the fan. By the beginning of the match, Petrova and Henin had an intrigue with first place: Sharapova lost, so stopping Justine in the quarterfinal from a rating point of view did not make sense. But there was a different meaning - or rather, even a few.
Firstly, it is always nice when the Russians defeat Justine Henin, a fatal rival of the Russian tour, and Nadezhda had a relatively fresh, year-old experience in this regard. Secondly, I wanted Nadezhda to repeat her achievement in Miami and reach the semifinals, where she was already in 2004. Thirdly, I did not want to miss the fascinating sight of Petrov - Chakvetadze. Nadezhda and Anna just have trouble. And a year has not passed since their first meeting, and Anya has already managed to win four victories over Nadia, and in the last three matches of Chakvetadze two sets were enough. Sooner or later, Nadezhda had to come up with an anti-Anna plan - it is possible that this time. Fourthly, in the final, Petrova would have the opportunity to meet with Serena and complete the work begun in Australia. Everyone remembers the match of Serena and Hope in Australia. Then the American miraculously escaped defeat. True, Nadia helped her a lot in this. Be that as it may, even Martina Hingis later said that Serena won the Australian Open only thanks to the victory over Petrova. It's funny that it was Petrova, for lack of Jankovic, who was to become the next in the playlist at Serena. But, then, it was not fate that Nadia won these two tie-breaks with Justine.
After the departure of Petrova, we have the exquisite semi-final of Enen - Chakvetadze. Ani and Justine have about the same situation as Shahar and Serena - young and daring against a recognized star, only in this case there are tennis players with more pronounced combinatorial abilities. In skill, Anya is inferior to Justin, and so far in psychological stability too. But we do know that in tennis the strongest does not always win, and even Anya, pregnant with the potential of the Top 5, does not look like an outsider at all. Training on such masters as Henin will not be superfluous for the talented Chakvetadze. Of course, we want the victory of the Russians, but from the point of view of historical justice, Justine in the final will still be a more welcome guest.
I already want someone to stop Serena. Honestly, it’s a little disappointing for the tour, which lives calmly and measuredly, and here Serena falls from the sky and defeats everyone. Of course, Serena - the only one and with her phenomenal ability to return from oblivion to the crack of fireworks, being outside the tour and rating, should only be admired. But for some reason, it’s impossible to admire - at least, sincerely. Probably, if Serena behaved more correctly in relation to the tour, everything would be different. But when she demonstrates superiority with all her appearance, somehow involuntarily the feeling of inner protest strengthens. There is a feeling that the appearance of Serena is something deeply contrary to the natural course of modern tennis history.
I want Serena to meet this time with the real first racket of the world. Still, Masha, no matter how much we like it, objectively does not yet pull on the first racket. And when Serena after the match with Sharapova ran around the court with a raised finger, it was more like personal revenge. But let Justine be our answer to Chamberlain. Serena wants to be the first real racket - let her try to run with a raised finger after the match with Justine. And if Serena wins, you will have to come to terms and accept her as some inevitable evil.
Ksenia VITRYAK