The 38-year-old is seeking a 24th slam but there are hurdles to overcome at the US Open, starting with Maria Sakkari on Monday
Nobody in tennis suffers for her art like Serena Williams – except maybe her one-time doubles partner, Andy Murray. On the women’s Tour, nobody retreats into her own world so completely under pressure, external and self-induced, to then emerge like a butterfly from a chrysalis and fly free.
For as long as she stays in the fight this week at Flushing Meadows, the greatest player of her generation will become more introspective, irascible, monosyllabic and explosive in pursuit of a 24th grand slam title. If she wins the final point of the tournament to move alongside Margaret Court after nearly three fruitless seasons, she will smile, thank the absent crowd and let go of the anxiety that gripped her so worryingly in the first set of her win over Sloane Stephens on Saturday.
