Serena Williams will face her best friend Caroline Wozniacki in the U.S. Open final tomorrow.
Williams’ easy victory earlier today, over the Russian Ekaterina Makarova 6-1, 6-3 in less than an hour, paved the way for her appearance in the final Sunday. According to USA Today, the win marks Serena’s 20th consecutive win at the U.S. Open, and if she wins tomorrow, her third consecutive U.S. Open championship.
“Oh, my God, it feels so good. You never know. I never thought I’d be here. [Marakova is] such an aggressive player. I was just, ‘Serena, just stay focused. Just try to win.’”
Serena Williams was heavily favored to sweep the Women’s division of all four majors this year, according to ESPN writer Greg Garber. Unfortunately, she lost in the fourth round in Australia, the second in France, and the third at Wimbledon.
There was also a weird incident in the doubles round at Wimbledon that left Williams’ fans scratching their heads. After several wild double faults, Serena was helped off the field, refusing to talk to the media and barely coherent, according to The Guardian . She would later claim that she was sick with some sort of viral infection, according to this Inquisitr report.
Serena Williams’ opponent in the final, Carolina Wozniacki, also brings her own drama to the story, albeit of a far more personal nature. In May, as Serena was organizing her (Wozniacki’s) bachelorette party, Wozniacki’s boyfriend golfer Rory McIllroy called her to cancel their wedding, according to The New York Times .
Since then, Wozniacki has politely declined to discuss much about the incident with the media. But she has revealed that she relied on her friendship with Serena to get through the rough patch.
“She just told me the truth. Honestly, she just told me that it’s going to be hard and there’s no skipping anything. But when you get to the other side, you’re such a stronger person. Obviously, I didn’t see that at the time. It had just happened. But now I do feel strong. I know myself much better.”
Serena Williams is known for being a fierce competitor on the field, so don’t expect her to let her friendship with her opponent affect her approach to the game. The Guardian tennis writer Kevin Mitchell is putting odds on Williams, expecting Wozniacki to “be blown away in straight sets.”
Fans who want to watch Serena Williams take on Caroline Wozniacki in the U.S. Open women’s final online can do so here .
[Image courtesy of: Black Press USA ]