Issue link: http://itf.uberflip.com/i/441551
32 ITFWORLD WINTER 2014 In claiming an incredible 18th Grand Slam singles title, Serena Williams was an unlikely winner at the US Open, says Alix Ramsay, as was men's champion Marin Cilic. US OPEN A s the world and his wife tripped merrily to Flushing Meadows for the start of the US Open, no one could have dreamt of what the coming two weeks would hold; no one could have foreseen that the tournament would end up with two such unlikely champions. Yet both Marin Cilic and Serena Williams made winning look so simple. Wait a minute — Serena Williams? She of the multiple Grand Slam titles? The world No. 1? An unlikely champion? Well, odd as it sounds, yes. For years, her peers and the sport's pundits had been billing the mighty Serena as the greatest player the women's game had ever seen. She did not quite have the numbers to make the argument completely watertight but, surely, it was only a matter of time. Her ability to outwit the best and outhit the rest had long since become the stuff of legend so who was going to stop her winning as many Grand Slam titles as she wanted? As it turned out, it was Serena who was proving to be her own biggest opponent. As she homed in on her 18th major title, her nerves started to jangle and her confidence evaporated. By the time she reached New York, she had not reached so much as a quarterfinal at the Slams all year — and that had not happened since 2006 when she was hobbled by a knee injury and could only play four events all season. Much as she hated to admit earlier in 2014, the pressure was getting to her. With all the talk of history and records — an 18th Grand Slam title would put her level with Chris Evert and Martina Navratilova — Serena nimbly sidestepped the issue. But when, as defending champion, she was dumped out of Roland Garros in the second round, she headed for the practice courts. HAPPY 18 TH In claiming her sixth US Open title, Serena Williams drew level with Chris Evert and Martina Navratilova with a total of 18 Grand Slam singles titles