Serena Williams won her third-round match against Bethanie Mattek-Sands, keeping her hopes of scoring a true Grand Slam alive. Despite a bad start, Williams managed to fight her way to a 3-6, 7-5, 6-0 victory over the American wild-card entry.
It looked like a tough match for Serena Williams when Mattek-Sands served first and appeared to dominate the field. Within a span of mere seven minutes, the latter was up 3-0 against Williams. Then, for an hour, it seemed as if Mattek-Sands could prove spoilsport to an otherwise amazing unbeaten year for Williams as she broke the latter’s serve, for the second set, bringing the set to 5-all, reported USA Today . But it slowly became apparent why Serena Williams is a force that is truly unstoppable.
Keep it going. #onamission
— Serena Williams (@serenawilliams) September 4, 2015
With Serena’s relentless and never-say-die, never-quit spirit, she fought back as Mattek-Sands appeared to run out of steam. At 5-all in the second set, Mattek-Sands was mere two games from upsetting the champion. However, what started as a worrying 5-5 game, ended with Serena winning eight straight sets to close out the 3-6, 7-5, 6-0 victory, reported Yahoo Sports .
In one of the most brilliant comebacks, Serena went on to win the game despite dropping the opening set. Interestingly, she has done this eight times during this season, only to go on and win the game.
Speaking about the odd recurrence of dropping sets, but winning the games, Serena said, “Getting out of it so many times definitely helps me. It’s definitely not something I want to do, though. But, hey, a win’s a win, I guess.”
Speaking about the game, Mattek-Sands said, “She’s a great closer. Always has been. Her determination is unlike anyone else’s. You could be watching a match, and she’d be down 6-0, 5-0, 40-love, and you still don’t think she’s going to lose. You think she’s going to come back and win.”
Winning this game and a few more this year is quite critical for Serena Williams, as she is on her way to making tennis history. If Williams continues her winning streak, the No. 1-ranked champion will become the first tennis player since Steffi Graf, to win all four Grand Slam tournaments in the same season. Graff had achieved the feat almost three decades ago, reported MSN .
When asked if she had witnessed Graf, the 33-year-old couldn’t help retorting with a strong remark, “Seriously? I mean, I’m old, but come on. Geez. I mean… I was 6. Get serious.”
With such determination and grit, Serena Williams could very well make tennis history by winning just four more games.
[Image Credit | Timothy Clary / Getty Images]
