This is surely turning out to be one fine year for Serena Williams. After beating older sister Venus during the quarterfinals after two tiebreakers, Williams was her old, unrelenting self as she battled first-time Grand Slam finalist Jelena Jankovic in a spectacular clash of powerful serves and ferocious backhands which ended with a fatal backhand error that lost Jankovic the title and which Serena won, a title which the 26 year-old first claimed six years ago.
The game started with Jankovic in the lead before she lost the first set to Williams. The title was ultimately captured when Williams saved four set points in the second set.
Aside from wining her third US Open title, this also places Serena Williams back at the top of the rankings, a spot which she vacated on August 2003. After the winning shot Serena was up in the air, jumping and skipping for joy. Later, after she shook hands with Jankovic and apologized for getting excited, Serena said in a statement, “This was magical. It was everything coming together like magic.”
“I wasn’t even going for number one and it’s just like an added bonus. It is that special because I’ve been working so hard,” she said.
This win puts a total of three US Open titles, one French Open title, two Wimbledons and three Australian Open titles for Williams, not including the victories that she claimed in 1999 and 2002 in New York.