Serena returns to the summit

On a night when the big stars all made it through to the semi-finals, it was Serena Williams that shone the brightest. True to her promise about becoming the oldest world No. 1 ever, 31-year-old Serena Williams fought off a gallant challenge from Petra Kvitova to reach the semi-finals of the Qatar Total Open in Doha and take the top ranking away from Victoria Azarenka. The American lost the first set, but bounced back strongly to stave off her Czech opponent with a memorable 3-6, 6-3, 7-5 victory in an interesting encounter that lasted two hours and 9 minutes. Serena sank to her knees in delight after closing out the hard fought victory weighed down by the gravity of her achievement. Barely minutes later, she was on Twitter with a celebratory tweet that read – “Thanks everyone for all the support. Back to number one. #1 and it feels so good. Serena #1.” Maria Sharapova and Azarenka also advanced to the last four of the WTA Premier event.

Serena faced rough weather in the early stages of the evening with Kvitova finally playing at a level that befits her place in the top ten among women. Kvitova hasn’t been enjoying a good run since taking the title at New Haven last August. In fact, when Kvitova defeated Nadia Petrova in a three set humdinger to reach the quarter-finals in Doha, it was only the first time this year that she won two matches in a row. Her reward was an opportunity to stand in the way of Serena’s ascent to the summit of women’s tennis. The world No. 8 set aside her form woes to grab the opportunity by the neck.

Kvitova failed to convert her first break opportunity in the sixth game, but a double fault from Serena helped her make amends at the second time of asking to take a 4-2 lead in the first set. Serena wasn’t at her best and Kvitova was dealing in winners to pin her seasoned opponent to the mat. The world No. 8 threatened to close out the set in the eighth game, but Serena showed remarkable reserves of resilience to save a couple of set points before holding serve in a marathon twenty one point game.

The first set was done in 42 minutes when Kvitova held serve in the next game. Roger Federer had once remarked that a true champion stands out by his ability to pull through on a difficult day – that was the narrative for Serena even as she struggled to find rhythm. The numbers almost reflected the stark contrast in the level of play – Kvitova had 14 winners and Serena assisted her opponent’s cause with an even number of unforced errors.

The second set saw a much more evenly contested phase of play as Serena set about repairing the quality of her strokes. With Williams cutting down on her errors, she was able to exert pressure on Kvitova’s service games. The Czech held off a stiff test in the sixth game, but Serena raised her level in the eighth to convert the only break point of the second set to take a 5-3 lead. She then held to love with her twelfth winner of the set to even the match.

Unperturbed by the reversal in the flow of the contest, Kvitova made a solid start to the final set, breaking Serena in the second game. But she squandered the advantage immediately with a loose service that helped Serena bring the set back on serve. The match took an immediate twist though when Serena presented her opponent yet another opening by gifting another break with a double fault to fall behind again. When Kvitova held to consolidate the break, the American was down 1-4 in the decider and it appeared that she may have to wait a few more weeks to snatch the top spot.

With her nose in front and the final marker almost within her grasp, Kvitova turned inexplicably tentative. Her seasoned opponent isn’t one to let go a sniff and she brought the set back on serve in the seventh game. Just when a tie-breaker seemed like a logical destination for the set, Kvitova allowed her nerves to get the better off her game as she quickly fell to 0-40 in the eleventh game. Though she managed to save a couple of those points, Serena took the third to find herself serving for the match, a spot in the last four and a much anticipated return to the helm of women’s Tennis.

She did just that in style, holding the final game to love and finishing the match with a thundering ace – her fourteenth of the match – to remind everyone who was truly the boss of the women’s tour. Serena, at the age of 31 years, 4 months and 24 days, eclipsed the previous mark set by the legendary Chris Evert, who took the number one ranking at the age of 30 years, 11 months and 3 days in November 1985. Despite stating that she was “so over it” earlier in the week, Serena’s eyes welled up and it was obvious how much it meant for the celebrated veteran to claim back the top rank.

“I’m so sensitive nowadays,” said an emotional Williams failing to control her tears. “I’m always crying, but I never thought I would be here again. I’ve been through so much and I just never thought I’d be here, so thank you Jehovah for giving me another chance.” It was Serena’s fourth straight victory over Kvitova, who took a set off the American for the first time in four meetings. When the rankings release on Monday, it will be the 124th week on the top of the rankings for the 15 time Grand Slam winner.

With her mission accomplished, it will be interesting to see how Serena fares against Maria Sharapova in the semi-finals. The Russian ousted Samantha Stosur 6-2, 6-4 to ease into the last four. Azarenka had a relatively easier time defeating the sixth seeded Sara Errani 2 & 2 to keep her hopes of a successful title defense alive. Meanwhile, Agnieszka Radwanska ensured that the top four women made it through to the weekend with a straight set 6-2, 7-5 victory over the 10th seeded Caroline Wozniacki.