From the swirling winds to the squandered chances to the stubborn foe, Serena Williams overcame it all to win Sunday’s U.S. Open women’s final. Her coach/reported boyfriend Patrick Mouratoglou said she’s more consistent and focused than ever before, and her mother said the reason is simple: Mouratoglou.
“He’s made her more calm,’’ Williams’ mother Oracene Price said after her daughter outlasted Victoria Azarenka, 7-5, 6-7 (6), 6-1, in a frenzied final that might have gotten away from her pre-Mouratoglou. “I noticed she doesn’t go crazy anymore. She keeps it more contained now, like in that third set when she found herself.’’
After blowing a 4-1 second-set lead and dropping her first set of this U.S. Open in a tiebreaker, Williams showed her newfound focus and hit the reset button.
“I’m happy because of, you know what could’ve happened: I could be standing here trying to explain that my strategy was the right one. But the good thing is she found a way, so you don’t even ask the question to me, so that’s fine,’’ laughed Mouratoglou, 43, who replaced Williams’ father, Richard, as her coach after a humbling first-round exit in last year’s French Open.
Richard was conspicuously absent from this U.S. Open, but the results with Mouratoglou’s have been spectacular. Williams is 98-5 with 14 titles — and four of the last six Grand Slams — with him, and 67-4 with a career-high nine titles this year after rebounding to roll through Sunday’s third set.
“It’s a champion’s reaction, because most of the players when they have pressure they take the wrong way: They try to take the exit.” Mouratoglou said. “She didn’t. She just worked harder and worked every point of every match, which is something she never did in the past.’’
“She’s prepared to do anything to get better, so it’s not difficult [to coach her] because she wants to get better. She’s always open, that’s one of the secrets to her winning Grand Slams for 14 years — the will to get better every moment.’’
That’s shown up in Mouratoglou prodding her to fight for every game and every point, the same quality former President Bill Clinton praised her for Sunday.
“She’s had 25 6-0 [sets] since January. I don’t know what her former record was, but I think it’s less than 10. It shows how intense she gets, and it’s definitely the right strategy,’’ said Mouratoglou.
“The best players in the world are the most intense, always,” said Mouratoglou. “It’s the right strategy, no doubt about it.’’