By ARIEL GONZALEZ
Staff Writer
Out with the old in with the new is one of the oldest clichés in the history of the universe. However, this cliché applies to almost every great athlete to ever pick up a ball, hit a ball, or pick up a racket. Generational talent is hard to come by but at the moment it arrives the newcomer always takes over his distinctive sport. From Michael Jordan to Kobe Bryant in the NBA, to Joe Montana passing the mantle to Peyton Manning in the NFL, each great athlete is replaced by someone with fresher legs who does what the old star used to do in his prime while he dwindles into the sunset and Tennis is no exception.
Last Saturday the Tennis world was shocked as 37-year-old Serena Williams lost the U.S. Open to 19-year-old Bianca Andreescu. However, this was no ordinary defeat, Williams who sits at 23 grand slams one away from tying Margaret Smith Court, has now been defeated in four straight majors since the Australian Open in 2017 to four different women without winning a single set. Tennis fans around the world tuned into the US Open championship match with the expectations that Williams would easily dismantle Andreescu by using her force and experience in major championships but that was not the case. Instead from the outset of the match, not only did experience or force not favor Williams the two favored the much younger Andreescu who seemed to mirror a younger Serena with every powerful serve or forceful return. The first set sent shockwaves around Arthur Ashe stadium as Serena lost the set pretty easily at 6-3 to Bianca but the real fireworks came in the second set of the match. Andreescu got off to a rapid start building a dominant 5-1 lead against Williams and seemingly not being fazed by the pro Williams crowd who at times applauded Andreescu’s mistakes and missed serves. As she served for championship point the moment was set to crown the young Andreescu but not before one of the strongest rallies in recent times by Williams. Serena turned an almost forgettable set into a memorable one coming from behind to tie the set at 5-5 and causing a raucous inside the stadium. Now that the tide had seemingly turned in Williams favor one could imagine that the Tennis world had returned to normal, Williams would finish winning this set and win the US Open in the next set after destroying Andreescu’s confidence with her heroics but that only happens in movies. Instead after proving that she was up to the challenge, Williams ran out of gas and Andreescu got the job done winning the set and match at 7-5.Â
As Andreescu laid down in exhaustion after beating Williams one couldn’t help but wonder has Serena Williams met her match. Earlier this summer at the Canadian Open, Andreescu also beat Williams and although Williams did retire with a back injury, the young star was already up 3-1 on Tennis great. On Saturday, what audiences around the world saw was a tennis player who was not only not afraid of Serena’s confidence or legend but a player who embraced the moment carrying the same swagger that had once made Williams a young phenom of the sport. Not to mention, Andreescu’s game mirrored a lot of what’s made Williams so dominant for so many years a powerful serve and a great forehand. The younger Andreescu beat Williams at her own game in a place she has won previously six times.
Bianca Andreescu might go down as a one hit wonder of a Tennis player just like singer Vanilla Ice or baseball player David Freese who enjoyed success for small stints of time but never accomplished long term success. However, Andreescu possesses every intangible of an athlete who may be able to enjoy long term success in a sport that has been largely dominated by the woman she beat on Saturday who because of her age is on the way out while she has just arrived.
