Serena Williams hails Tiger Woods’ influence as she continues her US Open run
Serena Williams has seen a marked difference in her performance this year compared to 2016.
The four-time Grand Slam champion has not dropped a set since the opening round at the US Open. The 23-year-old has made it six straight Grand Slam quarter-finals, after only trailing Hsieh Su-Chih of Chinese Taipei 6-0 in the Beijing semi-finals.
The seven-time major winner is up to fifth overall after a 6-3 6-2 win over Kiki Bertens in the third round on Thursday. She’s now 11-1 since her first WTA final in January 2002.
Williams’ resurgence has been so pronounced she couldn’t be sure what she was experiencing until she saw the results.
“I don’t know what exactly it is,” the 14-time Grand Slam champion told reporters after her second round win in Flushing Meadows. “That just goes to show how powerful of an influence he’s had on me and the game. I never thought I could beat him, but I was surprised how good I felt against him.
“To have a tournament like this at this level coming up like this, he’s the reason I feel like I did.”
Williams has become the first player to win back-to-back clay-court titles in New York since Martina Navratilova in 1993.
She also has made it to the final of every major, including Australian Open, and will be trying to add Wimbledon to her trophy cabinet this year.
“I’m really enjoying this, and I think I might just be too old to play on that tour anymore,” Williams said. “I just don’t feel like my legs are too good yet. So it’s kind of cool to actually be able to have these experiences.”
Williams also explained her decision to pull out of the US Open after 10 minutes of play on Friday to rest from her regular-season schedule.
“I just wanted to rest my neck a little bit,” she said after her withdrawal in the quarter-finals. “I didn’t really feel like I was playing myself. I tried to play every point, but I felt like I was missing the opportunities.
“I’ll try and get some shots in when I get back for the week.”
With her injury history, Williams
