If anyone watched the match between Serena and Sloane, she did not beat Serena because of the slow balls Serena was serving in the second set. As a matter of fact when Serena came back from her timeout injury she won her games.
Sloane had a hard time with Serena's slow serves because they had no pace on them. That's why MJF said that Sloane was gonna have to calm down and concentrate because she was actually hitting those balls out because they had on pace on them, and Serena was winning the points.
Serena was clearly able to serve in the third set.. The problem for her was that Sloane began to step back further and she began to get a read on Serena's serve and she began to retrieve those balls deep and to the sides of the court. She kept Serena on the run because she wasn't returning in "the middle of the court" like Serena likes it.
Sloane took control of the points by running Serena side to side; by retrieving all of Serena's HARD GROUND STROKES, and by "drawing Serena to net and then coming in herself and beating Serena at net. I carefully watched what sloane did.
In the first set Sloan one her first 3 games at 40 love. It was only when she was one serve at 4-3 that she made some errors that cost her the game and Serena went up 5-3. And that was due to INEXPERIENCE.
Sloane hit that short ball, which made Serena have to run to the net to get it and that's what caused the tweak in her back. After she took that timeout injury, Sloane lost concentration and Serena was just going for broke on sloane's serve and she broke back and took the lead.
When that medicine kicked in at the end of the second set, Serena began to hit her serves, but Sloane stood back far enough to get a read on them, and like MJF kept saying is that Sloane was reading her serve and she was retrieving those balls. Sloan had more winners than Serena when Serena was winning the game. Sloane's made some ROOKIE mistakes with her serve and that is what cost her the first set.
She ran Serena enough to make Serena's serve go off because her entire game is built around her serve. In the third set Serena started hitting her hard serves again, but the problem was that Sloane had gotten a read on them and she was returning the deep and in the corners and even when Serena was hitting some hard ground strokes, Sloane not only absorbed those ground strokes, but she was hitting winner after winner on the run.
Serena began to hit winners and both players was hitting some great shots, but it Sloans ability to get to basically all of Serena's shots and return them deep with the winners, and most of all she brought Serena in with deep slow shots with a lot of spin on those balls and that caused her problems.
Sloane is a young player and she still has a lot to learn because she's not as experienced as the older girls. This was her chance to win and she held her cool and she kept Serena on the run and she won. All players have to take their opportunities. Serena has taken her opportunities and Sloane took her opportunity and she's in the semi's.
What I loved about Sloane is that she didn't jump up and down after the win and that was so smart because she still has not won the title. She has two more rounds to go and Vika, Maria, or Li is not gonna give her the title. She's still gotta go through them to get the title.
And now that Venus and Serena is out of the AO, I'm rooting for the American and praying Sloane can keep it together mentally and execute her game enough to lift up that trophy on Saturday. That would be so cool if another African American could win a grand slam for America.
May be this is the new beginning of a rivalry between Sloane and Serena. Serena and Venus are old in terms of tennis years. It's time these new young American's step up and announce that they have arrived. I love the other American, I think her name is Keys. It's time this younger generation of American tennis players do just like Venus and Serena did when they came on the scene. It's time they start winning and began to take the mantle so when the Williams sisters do leave tennis in the next 4 years, they will be in place to reign.
Serena will win more grand slams, but yesterday was Sloane's coming out party and it was nice to see some NEW BLOOD in American Tennis. Go Sloane, I hope you win the title because all eyes are on you!