by Bob Stockton
@BobStockton10
There was an air of desperation about Serena Williams and her team after the American was dumped out of the Italian Open in the first round during the middle of May. Following the defeat to Argentina’s in Rome, Williams immediately met with her coach Patrick Mouratoglou to discuss cramming in a few more tournaments on clay before the French Open.
What followed was Mouratoglou sending out a tweet to say that Williams would be flying to the north of Italy to compete in the Emilia-Romagna Open in Parma. This was an event that Williams and her team planned on skipping, but as the old saying goes, needs must.
Basically, this sudden change of plan is down to the fact that Williams has been inactive since January, and is in a race against time to win another two grand slams in order to hold the all-time women’s record. As things stand, Williams is priced at 16/1 to win Roland Garros in the most recent tennis odds. It goes without saying but those odds don’t inspire much confidence in that eventuality, but if not in Paris for Williams, then when?
A look back at Williams’ record in grand slams over the last few years and you’re left with the regrettable conclusion that the time may have passed for her to stake her claim as the very best to have ever played. Of course, many tennis fans will already be of the option that Williams is the greatest, but without winning the most grand slams to back it up, it becomes a debate open to the floor, instead of an open and shut case.
The chances have been there on multiple occasions for Williams to finally put this discussion to bed but for whatever reason, the 39-year-old hasn’t been able to walk through the door to eternal greatness. Indeed, Williams has been the runner-up in grand slams on an astonishing five different occasions since 2018.
Perhaps the most disappointing one was Williams’ most recent grand slam final loss to 19-year-old Bianca Andreescu in 2019 at the US Open. The result seemed a formality on the eve of the final. But after witnessing Andreescu’s miracle win, there was a sense that Williams wouldn’t again add to her 23 grand slam titles and was resigned to be forever stuck behind Margaret Court’s tally of 24.
Subsequently, Williams hasn’t been in a final since September 2019 and it’s all of a sudden quite easy to understand why the American and her team felt quite desperate after another disappointing result at the Italian Open.
It will take a superhuman effort now to roll back the years and find the type of performance needed to win a grand slam that seemed to be second nature for Williams when the 39-year-old was in her prime. The uncomfortable truth is that for a decade and a half, Serena Williams could beat any opponent put in front of her but alas, there is no way to defeat time when it finally catches up.
