Serena Williams opened her U.S. Open quest by beating some Russian in, like, 12 minutes, or so it seemed. It was 6-0 and then 2-0 when the Russian retired, pleading an injury that we can assume was a Torn Serena's Kicking My Ass Muscle.
And so, the pursuit goes on, and that there's even a debate over whether the pursuit hasn't already ended boggles the mind. That Williams is the greatest women's tennis player of all time is not beyond question only because (A people are always gonna argue that the Greatest Ever can't be quantified, and (B she doesn't look like any of the other Greatest Evers.
Sorry. I know it's politically correct these days to deny that race has anything to do with anything, because, you know, a lot of white people don't think so. But come on. If Serena were as white as Chris Evert, would this even be a legitimate discussion?
If she wins the U.S. Open it will be her 22nd major title, tied for Steffi Graf alltime, and her fifth straight, and a calendar year Grand Slam for the first time since Graf did it 26 years ago. And if it's true she hasn't had the depth of competition Chrissie or Martina once had when they had each other, or even the depth of competition Graf had when she had Monica Seles ... have any of them done what she's done?
Remember, Serena's won eight majors since she turned 30, and she's done it after fighting back from a lacerated tendon, a pulmonary embolism and the murder of a sister. Who else has overcome that at her age?
I'll tell you: No one.
Not only has she overcome more, post-30, than any women's player in history, she has double the number of majors any woman in history has ever won post-30. So, yes, she's the best ever.
Claiming otherwise just makes you look, I'm sorry, silly.
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