Serena back on top following US Open win

Tomorrow Serena Williams will be the number one ranked women’s tennis player following her straight sets win over Jelena Jankovic in the 2008 US Open final.

Both players went into the match knowing that the winner would claim the no. 1 ranking in women’s tennis. For Serena she was aiming for her ninth grand slam title and her third at the US Open, while Jankovic was shooting for her first ever grand slam title. The US Open was the first grand slam final she had reached.

The women’s final was played on Sunday night in what would normally be the men’s final timeslot. This came due to the torrential rain that hit New York on Saturday.

The match did not dissapoint. Even though Serena won the match in straight sets, Jankovic pushed her all the way and in the second set held a set point.

The first set saw plenty of breaks of serve before Serena got the edge and took the set 6-4. Serena hit 19 winners to Jankovic’s 8 however she also made 16 unforced errors to 11.

The second set saw Jankovic get a break at 3-3 and she held the next game to lead 5-3. Williams took the match to 4-5 and then stopped Jankovic from winning the set as she broke back. Jankovic had a set point which she was not able to convert.

The match had now swung back around in favor of Serena and she put the pressure on Jankovic to win her service game when down 5-6 in order to extend the match to a tiebreak. Serena got the better of Jankovic and took the second set to claim her third US Open crown and to also rise to the top of the rankings. The final score was 6-4, 7-5.

Serena last held the no. 1 ranking way back in August 2003.

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