Will Serena Williams Get Another Real Rival Before She Retires?

By
at Internationaled.org

Published: May 25, 2016

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Serena Williams leads a lonely, rival-less life atop the WTA Tour.

She took up residence at No. 1 more than three years ago. Many players insist they wish to reside there too. Yet, for one reason or another, they never arrive.

Williams has been playing professional tennis for 20 years. However, it's been nearly eight years since she had a real rival. 

Will she get another one before she retires?

Williams coasted to a 6-2, 6-0 victory over Magdalena Rybarikova in the first round of the 2016 French Open. Meanwhile, would-be rivals Angelique Kerber and Victoria Azarenka lost. Kerber fell to KiKi Bertens, 6-2, 3-6, 6-3. Down 6-3, 6-7 (6), 4-0 to Karin Knapp, Azarenka retired due to a right knee injury. 

Now only No. 2 seed Agnieszka Radwanska has a chance to leave Roland Garros with the No. 1 ranking. But with an 0-10 record against Williams, Radwanska can hardly be called a rival.  

Who can? Nobody right now. Williams has many contenders but no real rivals in these later years of her career. 



Even when Williams takes a hiatus from the tour and leaves the door open, opponents who claim No. 1 is their desired destination take a detour.

Kerber and Azarenka were supposed to challenge Williams in the race for No. 1. Instead, they joined the long list of challengers who failed to dethrone Williams.

If Williams defends her title, she's guaranteed to reach 172 consecutive weeks at No. 1. That's second only to Steffi Graf (186). 

Williams dominates the top players. She is 5-2 against Kerber, 17-4 against Azarenka, 3-1 against Garbine Muguruza and 7-1 against Simona Halep. None of them are real rivals. 


Earlier in her career, Williams had rivalries with her sister, Venus, Justine Henin, Martina Hingis, Elena Dementieva, Jennifer Capriati and, to some ext...
Article Source: Bleacher Report - Tennis

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