Or that she didn’t win a Grand Slam match all year until she got to the U.S. Open.
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The Dane was in ominous form as she defeated her Latvian opponent 6-0 6-2 to set up a semi-final showdown with number two seed Angelique Kerber, and she is now just one win away from securing her place in a third US Open final.
Kerber will take on the victor of the quarter-final match between Denmark’s Caroline Wozniacki and Latvia’s Anastasija Sevastova in the semis.
And that would be good for the sport, considering Kerber, now 28, is Williams’ first legitimate rival in almost a decade. It was a rematch of the French Open final, where the Lopezes also beat the Bryans in three sets.
But those were all one-time deals. Vinci has been struggling with a foot injury all week and for the most of the second part of the year, so, it is wonderful that she managed to reach the quarterfinals and challenge her better-ranked opponent even for just a set.
“I dive because I want to win the point”. Williams brandished her racket and yelled at the line judge, and the point she was docked for that ended the match. Kerber is listed at 5-8 and 150 pounds, almost identical to Serena’s 5-9 and 155 pounds.
Once she’d taken the lead, Kerber didn’t let up. Challenging the Williams sisters on hard court or grass has been a death wish for the better part of the past decade.
At last year’s US Open, Vinci stunned Williams in the semi-finals, ending the American’s bid for a calendar-year grand slam.
Despite the Italian showing more resistance as she stared defeat in the face, Kerber eventually put the match to bed with her second match point.
But there would be no return trip for Vinci as a confident Kerber hung tough during a rollercoaster opening set then delivered a devastating knockout punch in the second to reach the U.S. Open semi-finals for the first time since 2011. She’s in confidence. When the moment is tough and both players are so close, she’s focused.
“But, yeah, she’s No. 2 in the world”.
The former world No 1’s resurgence has been a surprise to many, as earlier in the year she lost in the first round of the Australian Open, missed the French Open with an ankle injury and lost in the first round of Wimbledon. Williams has held that position since February 18, 2013. The pair are also battling it out for the No. 1 spot in the women’s ranking.
“If they called it”, Vinci said later, “I must have done it”.
“Well, this morning in my mind I said, of course, Okay, try your best; tough opponent like Serena previous year. It means a lot to me to be standing here again in the semifinals”.
“I’m staying more positive and believing in my game”, Kerber said. “Serena has to play, as well”.
Kerber could dethrone Serena Williams, who she has already faced in the Australian Open and Wimbledon finals this year, on top of the world rankings if results go her way.
“It’s always an honor for me to play [at the #usopen]”. You know, it’s incredible what she’s achieved. But she is not about to start a war of words.
The German, two years older at 28, could be number one in the world next week, five years after Wozniacki last held the position.
“I had nothing to lose”, Kerber remembers.
“I had to keep pushing her back and make her move”.
“But when I don’t have my knee, I have no chance to come back from two sets to love”.
“Yeah, I have a different kind of tennis, of course”.
“I know Jo for a long time, we grew up playing in the junior circuit as well”. “I had so many chances”. For me was tough, but I play a good game today.
“But that was the best that I can do today”.
“If they called it”, Vinci said later, “I must have done it”.
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This is so special for me. Meanwhile, Williams has a challenging quarterfinal matchup against No. 5 seed Simona Halep. If Kerber and Williams do their job, the top two players will meet in the final Saturday. “Now just will go home and take some days off; see what I have for my injury, and then we will see”.
