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After scoring four points and a 5-1 lead in the final set, Serena Williams did something that you can not always count on.
She wore herself with perfect dignity and was for the most part gracious towards her opponent, Karolina Pliskova, who was playing extraordinary tennis to steal their quarterfinal of the Australian Open.
"My ankle seems to be fine," Williams said, not bothering to blame a moment when she rolled the joint after being called for a foul.
"I think she's just playing in the sights, literally, by tapping lines. I just went crazy.
"I can not say that I choked on these match points, she literally played her best tennis ever."
It was a selfish compliment, but it was still a compliment due to Pliskova's performance. It was a welcome sight. a powerful champion behaving as such.
That was not always the case with Williams, even 23 titles in singles Grand Slam later. His last epic episode took place just four months ago, during the last Grand Slam, and it was perhaps his ugliest. The recent past was about to collide with the present of the Australian Open and this seemed too early; if not for Serena, then certainly for his opponent, Naomi Osaka.
Williams has barely said anything about this ugly finale of the US Open 2018 and certainly is not excused. As for the Williams camp, the scenario was banned at the Australian Open.
She reportedly met Osaka in the semifinal at Melbourne Park on Thursday, without her collapse against Pliskova. The US Open final would have dominated the preparations, and everything that happened during the match would have been seen through the prism of that bad day at Flushing Meadows.
Osaka, just 21 years old and No. 4 in the world, became the first Japanese Grand Slam champion when she defeated her childhood idol Williams at Arthur Ashe Stadium. It was a historic feat … for which she felt compelled to apologize, such was Williams' rage during the match.
The New York crowd booed. The new champion was a picture of devastation in her best moment. She covered her face with her black visor to hide the tears.
"I did not want people to see me crying against Serena," she told TIME magazine later.
It was a shame – one of Serena's achievements.
Williams attempted to stifle unruly fans, pbading his arm around Osaka and asking the crowd to stop booing, but the damage was done. A moment of triumph ruined.
"I know everyone was cheering (Williams)," Osaka told the crowd. "I'm sorry that ends like that. I just want to say thank you for watching the game. "
Osaka later stated that she did not bear a grudge against Williams, who was kind to her personally. But Serena has made this historic final of the US Open a matter of itself, as would have been her semifinal of the Australian Open. Williams' quarter-finals were underway as the post-match press conference was held in Osaka. She was asked about their history and a possible return match.
"I can not speak for her, but for me, it's always a very great privilege and an honor to play with her," Osaka said.
"I've been watching her since I was tall and honestly, I feel very lucky to have played twice with her already. If I play it, I'll just be looking forward to it. "
Now, Osaka has the chance to pursue a second major in a row without this intrigue to blur his feat, as immense as it would have been to overthrow Williams.
Her story in this tournament will not be tied to the vagaries of Serena's temperament. Osaka is fortunate to add the Asia Pacific Grand Slam to her title at the US Open (she lives in Boca Raton, Florida and has been living in the United States since the age of three).
Osaka aims to be largely the opposite of Williams on the field: cool, composed, without emotion. She gave a glimpse of her approach after crushing Elina Svitolina in the quarterfinals of the Australian Open.
"At the moment, most people know me for the US Open," she said.
"During the US Open, I did not show emotions most of the time. But after that, I showed – in my opinion – a lot of emotions. I got pissed off, then I threw my racket, stuff like that.
"For me, I do not really want to do that. I feel better when I am calm. When I'm not calm, it makes my life more difficult. I'm just trying to … There's like inner peace that I can exploit sometimes during my matches. It's a bit difficult to do, but once I'm here, it's easy. Not easy – but nothing can really bother me.
"It's just something I'm trying to learn in a consistent way. It's random, sometimes it's here and sometimes it's not. "
Osaka in open semifinal
She hopes that it is there against Pliskova, against whom she has a record of 1-2. Osaka believes that part of the reason she is looking forward to playing is that the Czech player is not "angry".
"I've played it many times and it's really hard to play," said Osaka.
"I can barely read his service, so it's very difficult for me. I see now that she does not hit too much untrained errors, which is a bit dangerous, but if I play it too, I can not wait to see it because I do not have it. I have never really seen getting angry and I think it's a very good match to watch. "
The final of the US Open 2018 was not Williams' first attack in New York, of course. In her last defeat against Australian Sam Stosur in 2011, she told referee Eva Asderaki: "You're nobody, you're ugly inside." In a semifinal lost to Kim Clijsters in 2009, she told a lineman: "I swear to God that I am the king who will take this balloon and make it fall into your king's throat. I swear to god. She is unquestionably a better winner than a loser.
Fortunately, we have not had anything like this at the Open in Australia.
Pliskova records a mbadive victory
Serena remains determined to reinstate Australian legend Margaret Court-Smith with 24 Grand Slam singles titles. It would have been appropriate if she had matched the mark at Melbourne Park, but that was not the case. Williams is confident that this will happen, in any case.
"The big picture for me is always winning.I will not stay here to lie about it," Williams said.
"But that has not happened yet, but I feel like it's going to happen, I'll continue to take it one game at a time.
"Twenty-three was not close, but 22 (corresponding to Steffi Graf's record in the Open era) was close for a long time.
"Eighteen-year-old (corresponding to Martina Navratilova and Chris Evert) were close forever, yeah, we'll see."
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