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The Australian Open: Day 13 Recap
by Nadya Vlassoff
Call her the lady killer or the dasher of dreams but Serena Williams had all the answers at Rod Laver Arena on day 13 in Melbourne.
 Dinara Safina, playing in her second slam final, had not looked completely confident throughout any of her previous matches. Her service games were shaky but she managed to fight off set and match points and scrape her way into the final. Against any other player on the women’s tour Safina would have stood a chance but against a three time Aussie Open Champion and 9 time slam singles champion, Safina was facing an uphill battle before even making it onto the court. Both women had trained ferociously in the off season with Safina having worked especially hard at getting fitter and building her stamina for matches exactly like the one from last night. A win was not guaranteed even after months of relentless training but against Serena Williams, who holds an astonishing 10-3 record in slam finals, nothing is ever a certainty until the last point has been played. Unlike the thrilling semi-final from the night before, this match did not even hit the one hour mark. For Safina, she was just outplayed in this match and Serena continues to roll through the women’s draw as she always has.
The first set of the match was quick but not painless for Safina who was broken 3 times in the first set. In her first service game Safina had three double faults with the last one at game point which she conceded to Serena. Dinara Safina tried desperately to control her shots as they hit the net, went long or were shanked wide. One unfortunate return from Safina clipped a tape and popped back onto her side. This was a testament to the whole match from Safina’s perspective as nothing in the first set went her way.
 In the second set Safina came out with a new plan of attack and it worked as she broke Serena for the first time as she recorded her first game of the match. Sadly for Safina, she could not control her own service games and was broken right back. That was the closest that Serena let Safina get. Breaking Safina again to go up 4-1, Serena finally began to urge her opponent into hitting some winners. Safina, knowing defeat was creeping closer, began to play offensively for the first time in the match as she held serve twice in a row for the first time in the match and forced Serena to serve for the match. At 40-15 in the final game, Safina hit a crosscourt shot just slightly wide giving the match to Serena who jumped up and down in elation at winning her 10th slam title. Safina, holding back tears, looked up at the woman who has remained practically unbeatable at this stage of the slams with only Venus Williams and Maria Sharapova able to defeat her in a slam final.
Beaming with pride and smiling like a child with a new toy, Serena Williams gave her acceptance speech to the crowd that has loved her since her first appearance in Melbourne over 9 years ago. A winner in the women’s singles and doubles this year, Serena Williams will continue to be a top contender for years to come. Hopefully, the new crop of female tennis stars can learn that on the biggest stage in the world, in front of millions worldwide, a first serve can be as helpful as the belief in one’s own ability. With no woman poised to take control, it looks like it is in Serena’s hands to decide whether she wants to continue with her newly regained number 1 ranking. Just be sure to let her racket do the talking.
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