Williams claims U.S. Open crown
NEW YORK — On the very first point of the match, Serena Williams hit a backhand so hard that her earring flew off.
Turns out she was just getting warmed up.
Williams kept pounding away, her shots and shouts getting louder with every stroke. And when she finished off Jelena Jankovic 6-4, 7-5 Sunday night for the U.S. Open championship and a ninth Grand Slam title, Williams really went wild.
She flung her racket high into the sky, hollering and hopping in a celebration that even she thought might've been over the top.
"I'm sorry I got so excited," she told Jankovic when they met at the net.
Williams' father, Richard, jumped to his feet after the final point. He didn't seem to expect his daughter to do the same.
"I never knew Serena to be very, very excited. I knew Serena to be very, very mean," he said after it was over. "I describe her as being a combination of a pit bull dog, a young Mike Tyson and an alligator."
The fourth-seeded Williams beat sister Venus in the quarterfinals and barreled through this tournament without losing a set. This win did more than earn Serena her third silver trophy at Flushing Meadows — it assured she will return to No. 1 in the rankings for the time since August 2003, the longest gap at the top for a woman.
Pretty good for someone whose ranking once plummeted to No. 139.
"It's been so long," she said.
Given the way Roger Federer has played lately, it seems like it's been a while since he's been on top, too.
Federer will try for his first Grand Slam win this season — and fifth straight U.S. Open championship — on Monday against Andy Murray, who beat No. 1 Rafael Nadal 6-2, 7-6 (5), 4-6, 6-4 Sunday in the completion of a match interrupted by rain.
The second-seeded Federer is aiming for his 13th major title, which would put him one shy of Pete Sampras' record. Murray, hoping to become the first British man to win a major tennis title since Fred Perry at the 1936 U.S. Open, is making his first appearance in a Grand Slam final.
"He's got loads of experience in these situations, and it's something new for me," Murray said. "I know I'm going to have to play great to have a chance of winning, but I've played well the last couple of weeks."
Plus this: Murray is 2-1 lifetime against Federer.
Williams calmed down in time for the on-court trophy presentation, and smiled when she received the winner's check for $1.5 million. Still full of personality, Jankovic wondered aloud, "How much did I get?"
Jankovic earned $750,000 for her first showing in a Grand Slam final.
This was the 13th straight time that the women's championship at the U.S. Open was decided in straight sets.
