Serena, Jankovic announce their presence on clay in style

The tennis season is yet to get settled on the red claycourts of Europe but the signs are already ominous about who all are the front-runners. As most of the girls this past week were either enjoying a much coveted break or trying their luck at winning some silverware at the last hardcourt event, two names made their unmistakable presence felt on the clay – Serena Williams and Jelena Jankovic.

The Family Circle Cup in Charleston gave them the opportunity to test their transition from the hardcourts to the clay and needless to say, both Serena and Jelena made the most of it. The tournament, in its 41st year, is a traditional stop-over for the women before they fly out to Europe. Being the oldest professional women’s tournament, it boasts of an illustrious list of champions including Chris Evert, Martina Navratilova, Steffi Graf, Conchita Martinez, Arantxa Sánchez Vicario, Martina Hingis, Justine Henin, Venus Williams and of course the aforementioned two ladies, Serena and Jelena.

The tournament remains as the only one played on green clay – a surface that once dominated American tennis. It has its differences with the slower and heavier European red clay though. A relatively faster version of the clay, it allows speedier movement and less sliding, giving ample time to the players to adjust their game before they hit the terre battue.

For both, the defending champion Serena and former champion Jelena, the tournament was quite an eventful one this year. With unfavourable weather conditions abandoning most of the play for one day, Serena had to battle in two straight matches played on a single day – a first in her career. For a battle-hardened Serena, it was a task she completed with consummate ease, and then faced off against her elder sister, Venus, for the 24th time, where she reigned supreme.

For the Serbian, it was a time for re-affirming her faith and belief in herself. For the past 12 months, she had been flying under the radar, virtually unnoticeable. Losses would rack up in numbers and the former World No. 1 was nowhere to be seen. Since February this year, Jankovic had returned to the winners’ circle, having triumphed in Bogota on clay.

A semi-final run in Miami was followed by a return to one of her favourite tournaments – the Family Circle Cup. Needless to say, the Serbian wouldn’t go home without a fight on her favourite surface. And so even when she looked down and out in the third set in many of her matches, she stormed back to victory. The reward – 500 career match wins and also a chance to recapture the Charleston crown.

A Serena v Jankovic match isn’t easy to predict, as their head-to-head before the summit clash suggested. Serena led, but only marginally – 5-4. Also, the fact that the former US Open runner-up had won their sole clay meeting, gave enough of a boost to the Serbian to exhibit her prowess. Smooth, effortless and with an unflagging eagerness, Jankovic showed some of her skills we had been missing for quite some time.

The childlike exuberance was back, the jaunty smile was back and so were her trademark splits. She, and her game, looked as breezy as her lively pink outfit. Whenever Serena found her way to multiple break points on Jankovic’s serve, Jelena, lovingly called Glitter by a section of her fans, ramped up her serve and found her way out of trouble. Her backhand worked in perfect synchronization with her first serve, whose percentage at the end of the first set shot upto 79%.

The reigning World No. 1, Serena, on the other hand initially had loads of opportunities she couldn’t capitalize on. Later on, it was her backhand which consistently found the net and the forehand hardly found a winner and before long, she lost the first set 3-6.But then when you are facing an adversary called Serena Williams, things might not remain that ‘smooth’ till the end. The American has this uncanny ability to turn a match around with a hidden remote control switch somewhere. Maybe the switch exists within her.

Couple of weeks ago, when Serena was on the verge of making an exit in Miami against Dominika Cibulkova, she allowed a glimpse, for the umpteenth time, of her mental fortitude and resilience. In her post-match press conference, she talked about having a chat with her alter ego. “Yeah, I’m talking to myself inside and she’s talking back and giving me lip,” Serena revealed. “I give her a little attitude, and then I tell her she sucks and she tells me to shut up.”

Oblivious to our eyes, the chat had already begun. For Serena, when she came to start the second set, had metamorphosed into a completely different individual – different in her approach, different in her body language and different in her focus. A verbal exchange with Jelena towards the beginning of the second set perhaps added fuel to the fire already burning within Serena.

When Jankovic complained that Serena was taking too long to get ready to return, Serena did speed up. And it was speeding up of the utmost fashion. All Jankovic could stare at was winners whizzing past her from both the forehand and the backhand wings. Even when she tried to interrupt the rhythm of Serena’s play with a deft touch at the net, Serena, sliding on the clay, was there in a jiffy to shoot it back for a blistering winner.

It was six straight games before the Serb could stop the rot and win a game. But by then, she had already lost the second set in a bagel. Jankovic tried to show some resistance but, unlike the first set, couldn’t keep up with a surging Williams. Serena broke early and didn’t have to look back. Before long, a joyous Williams had conquered the green clay of Charleston for the third time, with the final scoreline being an emphatic 6-2.

What was special about the final was that it did bring out the best from both the players for certain periods. If the first set belonged to the ever-smiling Jankovic, the rest the determined Serena managed to own.

That Jankovic can once again be a force on the terre battue with her impressive footwork, the Charleston final validated. She is quite a character and her ridiculously hilarious quotes bring a breath of fresh air.

As for Serena, she obviously sent down early warning signals to the rest of the WTA brigade, that she is hungry to quell all challenges. And when things are not going her way, she knows how to bring things back her way – which makes her an even more lethal opponent. The Charleston final was a remarkable example of that.