C M Y K Nxxx,2015-08-31,F,002,Bs-4C,E1 C M Y K Nxxx,2015-08-31,F,001,Bs-4C,E1 C M Y K Nxxx,2015-08-31,F,02A,Sc-4C,E1 C M Y K Nxxx,2015-08-31,F,002B,Sc-4C,E1 C M Y K Nxxx,2015-08-31,F,011,Bs-4C,E1 F2 N THE NEW YORK TIMES, MONDAY, AUGUST 31, 2015 8 A LOOK BACK F2A N THE NEW YORK TIMES, MONDAY, AUGUST 31, 2015 THE NEW YORK TIMES, MONDAY, AUGUST 31, 2015 N F2B THE NEW YORK TIMES, MONDAY, AUGUST 31, 2015 N F11 In Grand Slam bids, pressure may ‘‘I always dreamt of winning be the most formidable opponent. the U.S. Open. I have AUSTRALIAN OPEN TITLES U.S. OPEN PREVIEW A GRAND SLAM JOURNEY 2003, 2005, 2007, 2009, 2010, 2015 FRENCH OPEN TITLES WIMBLEDON TITLES 9 A LOOK AHEAD U.S. OPEN PREVIEW A GRAND SLAM JOURNEY U.S. OPEN TITLES always dreamt of winning 2002, 2013, 2015 2002, 2003, 2009, 2010, 2012, 2015 U.S. OPEN PREVIEW A GRAND SLAM JOURNEY ● Players to watch at the Open 1999, 2002, 2008, 2012, 2013, 2014 (other than Serena Williams). the Grand Slam.’’ — SERENA WILLIAMS ILL, BUT AT EASE MONDAY, AUGUST 31, 2015 F1 JOYFUL REDEMPTION N GRIT ON CLAY A STEP FROM HISTORY SICKNESS AND SHARAPOVA CAN’T DENY A SIXTH AUSTRALIAN OPEN TITLE A SIXTH TITLE AT THE ALL ENGLAND CLUB, A YEAR AFTER A PAINFUL EXIT U.S. Open HEALTH PROBLEMS (AGAIN), BUT A 20TH GRAND SLAM SINGLES CROWN THE TASK IN QUEENS: COMPLETE THE FIRST CALENDAR-YEAR SLAM SINCE 1988 PREVIEW The Challenge That Lies Ahead Down Under One Slam Down, Serena Williams’s home And Rising Wobbling, Grand Slam tournament One to Go has been the site of several Four and a half months But Winning milestones. She has won after winning the 2014 Serena Williams Serena Williams dis- the U.S. Open six times, in- U.S. Open without dropped a set in five patched longtime rivals cluding the last three. She One Chapter losing a set, Serena matches, including and players who had claimed her first major title Williams had a one to 105th-ranked looked up to her when here at age 17 in 1999. In To Complete severe cold for much Anna-Lena Friedsam. they were children to 2008, after five years of of the Australian As in Australia, Wil- complete her second battling injuries and incon- In trips to Melbourne, Paris Open and even liams battled an so-called Serena Slam, sistency, she won the title and Wimbledon this year, threw up during the illness in the late holding all four Grand in New York and reclaimed Serena Williams picked up final. But she defeat- stages of the tourna- Slam singles titles at the No. 1 ranking. Last year, the championship trophies ed her longtime rival ment and spent the same time. She she failed to advance past as souvenirs. If she adds Maria Sharapova for most of the day also achieved the feat the fourth round of any another U.S. Open trophy after winning the 2003 the 16th consecutive before the final sick major until she arrived in to her collection, she will be Australian Open. time to end a four- in bed. But she still Queens, where she began the first player since Steffi year title drought in emerged with her a year of dominance. Graf in 1988 — and only TURNING POINTS Australia. second title in Paris the sixth player ever — to in three years. Heather Watson of Britain THE DRAW served for the match complete a calendar-year TURNING POINTS No path to a Grand Slam TURNING POINTS against Williams in the Grand Slam. Williams was confronted title is easy, but Williams’s Against Timea Bacsin- third round, twice coming Nearing her 34th birthday, with the future of tennis draw is a fitting challenge szky in the semifinals, two points from a victory. repeatedly, knocking Williams is on the brink of a Williams was down by a “How I pulled through, I to complete her quest. In out the rising stars singular achievement. But set and a break at 2-3 in really don’t know,” Williams her quarter alone are the Elina Svitolina, Garbiñe if she wins in New York, the second, then reeled said. In the next round, rising Americans Sloane Muguruza and Madison she will write her name in off 10 straight games to she faced her sister Stephens, Madison Keys Keys. In the fourth round a few other places in the win the match. Against Venus, their first meeting and CoCo Vandeweghe; record book. She will tie against Muguruza, Wil- Lucie Safarova in the in a Grand Slam event her sister Venus; and the liams dropped the first Graf’s Open-era record of final, Williams was down, since 2009. Swiss phenom Belinda 22 Grand Slam singles titles set but avenged a loss in 0-2, in the third set but Bencic, one of only two and will set an Open-era the second round of last won the last six games THE JOURNEY players to beat Williams record for U.S. Open cham- year’s French Open. of the match. this year. Possibly waiting ROUND 1 pionships, with seven. in the semifinals is Maria THE JOURNEY Def. Margarita Gasparyan Sharapova, who has not Williams’s results in her title THE JOURNEY 6-4, 6-1 defeated Williams in 11 matches this year: ROUND 1 ROUND 1 ROUND 2 years but could play the Def. Alison Van Uytvanck Def. Andrea Hlavackova AUSTRALIAN OPEN Def. Timea Babos ultimate spoiler. 6-0, 6-4 6-2, 6-3 Def. Maria Sharapova 6-4, 6-1 ROUND 2 ROUND 2 THE HISTORY 6-3, 7-6 (5) ROUND 3 Def. Vera Zvonareva Def. Anna-Lena Friedsam A Grand Slam has been Def. Heather Watson FRENCH OPEN 7-5, 6-0 5-7, 6-3, 6-3 completed at the U.S. Open 6-2, 4-6, 7-5 six times. Two players, Jack Def. Lucie Safarova ROUND 3 ROUND 3 ROUND 4 Crawford in 1933 and Lew 6-3, 6-7 (2), 6-2 Def. Elina Svitolina Def. Victoria Azarenka Hoad in 1956, entered the 4-6, 6-2, 6-0 3-6, 6-4, 6-2 Def. Venus Williams WIMBLEDON 6-4, 6-3 U.S. Championships with a Def. Garbiñe Muguruza ROUND 4 ROUND 4 chance at a calendar-year QUARTERFINAL 6-4, 6-4 Def. Garbiñe Muguruza Def. Sloane Stephens Grand Slam but lost in the Def. Victoria Azarenka 2-6, 6-3, 6-2 1-6, 7-5, 6-3 final. Martina Navratilova U.S. OPEN 3-6, 6-2, 6-3 won the first three majors QUARTERFINAL QUARTERFINAL Final, Sept. 12 SEMIFINAL of 1984, but in those years, Def. Dominika Cibulkova Def. Sara Errani Def. Maria Sharapova the Australian Open was ≥ 6-2, 6-2 6-1, 6-3 Serena Williams’s 6-2, 6-4 the final Grand Slam event journey — Slam by SEMIFINAL SEMIFINAL of the season. Navratilova FINAL Slam — begins on Def. Madison Keys Def. Timea Bacsinszky lost in the semifinals. Def. Garbiñe Muguruza Page F2. 7-6 (5), 6-2 4-6, 6-3, 6-0 6-4, 6-4 FINAL FINAL Def. Maria Sharapova Def. Lucie Safarova 6-3, 7-6 (5) 6-3, 6-7 (2), 6-2 SCRAPBOOK BY HOLLY BRAFORD; PHOTOGRAPH BY TONY CENICOLA/THE NEW YORK TIMES SCRAPBOOK BY HOLLY BRAFORD; SCRAPBOOK BY HOLLY BRAFORD; PHOTOGRAPH BY TONY CENICOLA/THE NEW YORK TIMES PHOTOGRAPH BY TONY CENICOLA/THE NEW YORK TIMES ‘Growing up, I wasn’t the richest. But I had a rich family in spirit and support, ‘I think it’d be awesome. But at the end of the day, it’s pretty awesome to ‘At the beginning of the year, this is the one I really wanted to win. SCRAPBOOK BY HOLLY BRAFORD; and standing here with 19 championships is something I never thought would happen. So that was the first thing and the main thing on my mind.’ PHOTOGRAPH BY TONY CENICOLA/THE NEW YORK TIMES have 20. Obviously, I would love to win a Grand Slam. I haven’t done great ‘I always dreamt of winning the U.S. Open. I have always I went on the courts with just a ball and a racket and a hope, and that’s all I had.’ at Wimbledon the past two years, so I’m going to take it a day at a time there.’ JULY 11, after winning her sixth Wimbledon title OPEN PAGE dreamt of winning the Grand Slam. Again, it was just a dream. NEXT STOP: LONDON NEXT STOP: NEW YORK JAN. 31, after winning her sixth Australian Open title NEXT STOP: PARIS JUNE 6, after winning her third French Open title, referring to a possible Grand Slam I never thought I would be close to doing something like that.’ AUG. 27, four days before her first-round match with Vitalia Diatchenko SCRAPBOOK BY HOLLY BRAFORD; PHOTOGRAPH BY TONY CENICOLA/THE NEW YORK TIMES FROM THE ARCHIVES The New York Times has followed Se- courses in two tournaments. For one year-old follow-up act to her big sister Jan. 25, 2003 run the Serena Slam, an allusion to Ti- More Dominannt Than Ever Serena Williams has been the top-ranked woman in the world six times and has rena Williams’s career since 1990, when sister to survive, there was the possibil- phenom, Venus, captured the women’s Completion of first Serena Slam ger Woods’s similar achievement in AUSTRALIAN OPEN FRENCH OPEN WIMBLEDON U.S.