The stat of 73 total unforced errors for Serena Williams should tell you enough about the quality of play from the World No. 1 during her match today versus Russian Vera Dushevina. But somehow Williams survived a match point against her in the second set to prevail 6-7 (2), 7-6 (5), 7-6 (5) in over three and a half hours in Madrid.
In an event that’s already seen many of the top stars lose early including Justine Henin and Maria Sharapova, for a while it looked like Williams would join that group despite having opportunities in each set to put the match away early. Williams held three set points in the first set before losing it and then faced a match point down on her serve in the second set. In the third set, Williams jumped out to a 2-0 lead before giving the break back. At 3-2, Williams called for the trainer to assess her lower back and soon left the court before returning with her right thigh wrapped. Willing herself to 5-2, Williams served for it, but more errors from her brought the match to 5-5.
Eventually the final set tiebreak was Dushevina’s to lose after she cruised to a 4-0 lead. But nervous errors from the Russian allowed Williams back in at 4-4. After missing out on one match point at 6-5, Williams served an ace down the “t” and let out a primal yell of victory. Although the match saw many errors from both players, Dushevina held her ground and some deft drop shots from the Russian had Williams scrambling all around the court. Despite having nine aces, including the match winner, Williams’s trademark serve was not a factor in most of the points allowing the Russian into the rallies.
“I definitely feel really proud because I definitely wasn’t playing my best tennis and I was far off playing well,” Williams said. “Also, at that point I wasn’t going to lose. After three hours, I’d better win.”
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