Serena Williams Sputters, Falls in Warmup Tournament

Before the Western and Southern Open, Serena Williams was doing amazing.  She had just won gold medals in both singles and doubles at the Olympics.  And did I mention before that she had won both the singles and doubles titles at Wimbledon?  She also won a title in Stanford.  So when she struggled, it was definitely a surprise.

In her first match against Eleni Daniildou, Serena looked lethargic out there.  Even though she won 6-4,  6-3.  The scoreline does not reveal just how close this match was.  Surprisingly enough, Daniidou was pushing Williams all over the court.  One could see the frustration building in Williams' face as she was clearly in shock that some no-name girl could be doing this to her.  When you expect perfection, anything other than that is a disaster.

Then, she took on a familiar foe, Urszula Radwanska.  She had recently beaten her in the Olympics, so one expected Serena Williams to just walk right through her once again on her quest to the tournament title.  That, however, was not the case.  Again, she looked lethargic and sloppy as she slapped balls into the net.  Radwanska did not have the weapons to beat her, though, and fell to Serena in straight sets.  It almost felt during a part of the match that Williams was not winning the points, rather Radwanska was losing them.  The passion was there, the game just was not on Williams' standards.

So, it was not surprising that Serena Williams lost to Angelique Kerber 6-4, 6-4.  She was sputtering all week, getting by, but at some point, sputtering objects will break down.  As one can see, Kerber is a defensive player, the type of player that can frustrate Serena.  So, it was no surprise that she fell in straight sets.

This was definitely a disappointing tournament for Serena Williams, as at least I expected her to continue her dominance and win the tournament.  However, we also must recognize that it would be hard to play at such a high level.  Does this mean she will not be a factor at the US Open?  No, but this was a fall to earth for Serena Williams.