Serena stays focused on ultimate '08 goals

by Matt Cronin, Special to FOXSports.com

Updated: July 19, 2008, 4:17 PM EST 35 comments

While dozens of other student athletes are going through informal daytime practices this July at Stanford and enjoying the low key nightlife in Palo Alto, Serena was just nearby, putting herself through a hardcore treadmill of summer play in an attempt to regain her ultra elite status.

As the top seed at the Bank of the West Classic, played at Stanford's Taube Tennis Center, Serena had little time for knocking back a couple of light beers during lazy summer afternoons in the student quad.

"It would have been fun. I think I would have had a fabulous college life. Now I don't think I can have the 'big experience,'" she said with a laugh. "If I go back to school it will be strictly for the learning and nothing else."

On tour, Serena is the one doing much of the teaching these days. In her opening match at the tournament, she had to pull out all of her reference books to stop the incredibly talented Portuguese 15-year-old, Michelle Larcher de Brito, who for a set and a half made the wizened old schoolteacher work as she flew about the court knocking off winner after winner, ignoring Williams' stellar resume. Finally, Serena kicked the kid around 4-6, 6-3, 6-2, but not before she had to come back from a break down in the second set.

"I thought how I was playing when I was playing a top seed and played better than I normally played," Williams said. "Every part of her game was good."

Williams is primarily thought of as a straight up basher, but against Larcher de Brito, Serena sliced, diced, looped and played short angles. It didn't get her very far, but she made the teenager think hard about her own shot selection before Williams could begin to dominate with her serves and returns again.

Swiss veteran Patty Schnyder, who later lost to Serena in the quarterfinals, said Serena has the best serve on tour.

"She is also a great returner," said Schnyder, who is 3-7 lifetime against Williams. "She's a shotmaker and on the big points she's not afraid to hit or even to hold back and play rallies. She can show patience, too, and is just a great champion."

Despite her strong start to the tournament, a knee injury slowed Serena and forced her to withdraw from Saturday's semifinal.

While Serena's overall greatness is not in question, her level this year is. She's had a very good year by most players' standards, but not by hers. She won three titles — Bangalore, Charleston and Miami — but does not have a major title. Those have gone to Maria Sharapova (the Australia Open), Ana Ivanovic (French Open), and her sister Venus (Wimbledon).

Don't think that Serena came off Wimbledon happy having lost in the final to her beloved older sister. She wasn't celebrating her own performance in the well played, yet emotionally draining 7-5, 6-4 defeat.

"I can't say I'm pleased with my year because I haven't won any Grand Slams this year," Williams said. "That's always been the goal for me, but my main goal is to stay healthy. If I can do that, then I'm fine."

That's what Serena has done for the most part this year. In fact, 2008 has been her healthiest season since 2002. Personal issues and injuries have taken their toll on her commitments. Due to the fact that she pulled out of the Bank of the West Classic the three previous times she had entered, the tournament decided not to put her on their promtional poster, not wanting to risk the further ill will of fans.

But this year, she's been on track while playing an extremely demanding schedule.

After falling to Venus at Wimbledon, she upheld her commitment to the World Team Tennis league and played four matches. She's playing Stanford this week, Los Angeles the next, maybe Montreal and then heading to Beijing for the Olympics. After that, she'll take a long plane west for the U.S. Open in New York.

"I'm feeling good," the fifth ranked Williams said. "I have goals and have almost no points coming off this summer. I can only move ahead."

Williams feels she's moved backward at the Grand Slams. She hasn't won a major since the 2007 Australian Open. This season she was out-run by Jelena Jankovic in Australia, completely fell apart against Katarina Srebotnik at the French Open and then froze in the final games against Venus at Wimbledon.

"I didn't play well in Australia, the French I shot myself in the foot, and at Wimbledon I couldn't get it together in the final," she said. "Venus played better than I did, but I didn't play my best."

But as tired as Serena looked at times against Larcher de Brito, she put on her hard hat and raised her jackhammer above the court until she turned her foe's game into rubble. The commitment seems to be there, which means that if she is patient enough with herself, the big results should come.

"I have to win something eventually," she said. "I feel like I should be able to win for the most part and sometimes I get disgusted because I didn't make the right shots, or made a lot of errors. I don't like to lose. I'm a perfectionist and feel like I should be the best at what I do."

All the best will be in Beijing and given how much Serena loves the spotlight, she'll no doubt want to be waving her own gold medal.

Then there's an even larger trophy to be raised at the U.S. Open — one she hasn't held since 2002. If she accomplishes both those feats, maybe she'll be able to take a year off and study at Stanford.

"The Olympics and U.S. Open are hovering," said a more than determined Williams. "I think I'll be ready for them."