By Randy Walker
@TennisPublisher
Shortly after getting into my car rental at Miami International Airport, the local sports radio station came out of a commercial with “breaking news.”
Serena Williams had lost at the Miami Open.
The radio hosts were incredulous that Serena could lose in Miami – or anywhere – for that matter. They keep repeating the breaking news as though it was a global news headline on CNN – “Serena Williams has lost at the Miami Open.”
Curious enough, these breaking news flashes didn’t mention WHO had beaten Serena, nor did the subsequent sports news headlines report.
Perhaps radio people are afraid to try and say the name Svetlana Kuznetsova, even though she is a two-time major champion and potential Future Hall of Famer
The Kuznetsova breaking news upset win – by a 6-7, 6-1, 6-2 margin – came in the round of 16 at the Miami Open, the event that the 21-time major champion Williams has won a record eight times.
She’s almost as synonymous to the tournament as the city of Miami itself with her eight titles being the most by any man or woman ever at the event. She even went as far to write an editorial in the New York Times last week entitled “Why Tennis Needs The Miami Open” to support the event as it faces possible relocation due to a legal battle over facility improvements in Key Biscayne. Her eight Miami titles is the most she has won any one singular tournament – followed by her six titles at the Australian Open, the U.S. Open and Wimbledon. Her record in Key Biscayne entering her match with Kuznetsova was a staggering 75-7 in her 16 total appearances.
She last lost at the event in 2012 in the quarterfinals to Caroline Wozniacki and the last time she lost here before the quarterfinals was in 2000 to Jennifer Capriati, also in the round of 16, her earliest dismissal here.
The competitiveness of Serena Williams is, perhaps, unmatched in tennis, and it shows in her post-match press conferences after losses where she usually has little to say. “It’s obviously disappointing,” she said after he loss to Kuznetsova. “I’ve won here a lot, so it’s OK.”
