NEW YORK — Serena Williams had been a vulnerable conqueror at this year's grand slams, rising up for victory whenever pressed to enter the U.S. Open on track to register only the fourth women's calendar-year Grand Slam.
But in her 12th three-set contest of the electrifying run, Williams finally met her match in doubles expert Roberta Vinci of Italy, who ended the American's bid for a share of tennis history with a shocking upset in the U.S. Open semi-finals.
Williams, dominating the sport at the ripe old tennis age of 33, had repeated over and over that she felt no pressure in trying to add her name to a Grand Slam list comprised of Maureen Connolly (1953), Margaret Court (1970) and Steffi Graf (1988).