2-JELENA JANKOVIC V. 4-SERENA WILLIAMS
I've loved this match-up from the first time I saw it live, when they faced off in San Diego back in 2004 -- a three-set win for Serena. It matches Serena's power, sheer aggression and incredible willpower against Jankovic's speed, unique counter-punching ability and love for the big win over the more popular player. It's a face-to-face, serve against return, diva vs. diva match-up of the highest proportions.
Their rivalry is locked up at 3-3, with all their matches being played on outdoor hardcourts, with Jankovic running past her in the 2008 Australian Open quarters and Serena brushing her off in the 2008 Miami final. There are rarely sloppy points. There are almost always end-to-end rallies that end in screams and splits. There is always drama: smiles, grimaces, grunts and huge sighs of relief.
At 2006 LA, when Jankovic upset Serena in the semis, the two really went at each other. After Jankovic went up 5-2 in the second set, she hit a ball across the net that bounced near Serena's face. Both women said later that they realized it wasn't on purpose, but during the changeover, Serena asked the chair umpire to tell Jankovic not to do it any more because it almost hit her in the eye.
New York is the perfect venue for Jankovic to attempt to win her first Slam final. She says she loves the tournament the most because her super-extroverted personality cuddles into the cavernous confines of Ashe Stadium. The Serbian has more than a bit of a New Yorker in her, and even though she's European by birth, she is a long-time Florida resident who understands the true meaning of "showtime" more than many Americans.
But no more than Serena, who was also meant to close the curtains down on a play's final act. The 27-year-old Williams has been through numerous ups and downs at this tournament but has been a front-and-center actress since she broke out and won the title here in 1999. Despite her failure to win a major this year, she's worked harder in 2008 than she has in any other season and is finally seeing the fruits of her labor. She wants this title very badly and is now experienced enough to adjust her well-developed game to her opponent's various styles. She survived her five-time Wimbledon champion sister Venus in the quarters and then put a serious hurt on the red-hot Dinara Safina in the semis.
“Overall, she's the strongest player on the tour, together with her sister,” Jankovic said. “Nobody has the power that they have. I cannot compare with their strength. They're great athletes; I'm a little athlete. They move really well. They hit the ball so hard.
"So if you want to really win when they're in form, you really have to be on the top of your level, and you really have to go for every shot and really have to run a lot. So it will be difficult, but it's doable.”
Serena looks more than prepared to win her third US Open crown and ninth Slam overall but will have to go to hell and back to do it. What we don't know is whether in her first appearance in a Slam final, she will be able to impose the same relentless, hard-hitting, steady game that saw her step on Elena Dementieva in the semis. Jankovic is all of a sudden healthy, and although she's at a big disadvantage in the serving department, she's quicker than Serena is and will demand that Williams sprint with her all day long.
“I don't know too many people on the tour that can hang in there as much as she can,” Serena said. “She's playing well, and she's just going for glory here.”
This one will go three sets, or at least a deep two, and the winner will be the one who puts the right amount of stick on the ball at the closing moments and who finds her foe's weaknesses mid-way through the match.
If Jankovic was facing Safina, I'd pick her to win her first Slam, but Serena is about to enter the zone, and when she does, she'll drag JJ around by the ponytail until the Serbian finally gives in. As Serena said, “She has a lot of pressure to win her first Grand Slam, and I'm just enjoying every moment.”
Serena in three, foot-stomping sets.
