Serena Williams (Photo : www.dailynewsegypt.com)
Serena Williams successfully punched her ticket to the championship round of the Miami Open but not before surviving the onslaught of world's no.3 Simona Halep 6-2 4-6 7-5 and brutal trash-talks from the Romanian fans.
Williams, the 19-time Grand Slam winner and reigning no.1 women's singles player in the world, faced perhaps the most vicious treatment from the crowd since the infamous event at Indian Wells that triggered a 14-year boycott from the Williams Sisters (a banned partially broken by Serena's decision to play at the same tournament this year) in Thursday's semis clash with Halep.
Coming off a hard-fought win over Germany's Sabine Lisicki 7-6 (4), 1-6, 6-3, Williams dominated the opening set with good service game and beautiful winners to take the upper-hand in the match. However, momentum shifted side in the second set when Halep started to make a rally, igniting a partisan crowd that increasingly jeers the American in every serve and cheers in unforced errors committed.
Suddenly, Halep was back in the game with Williams struggling to tame her emotion before a boisterous audience at Crandon Park. Facing a prospect of serving out the match at 5-4, Williams surprisingly squandered the opportunity. But lucky for her, Halep failed to capitalize hers as well, as Serena set up a date with Carlo Suarez Navarro of Spain in the finals.
Chris Chase of USA Today called out Halep fans for their pathetic display, and lack of class in Thursday's semifinal. However, Chase believed the most disappointing of all were the Miami-based fans who didn't do anything to defend their homegrown sports star.
"It was a pathetic display from Halep fans, but there was no beef between the contestants. They shared a warm moment at the net after the match. Given their play, it's a sight we'll be seeing a lot in the next few years," according to Chase.
As dominant as Williams have been in the women's tourney the past few years, perhaps Serena needs some extra motivation from Halep's rowdy fans. At least on this perspective, it's going to be a very interesting rivalry for women's tennis.
