I’m not going to jinx Serena Williams like I did at Wimbledon. Serena had a relatively breezy route through the Wimbledon draw, where she met Angelique Kerber, the same player she beat in the 2016 Wimbledon final. Only I jinxed her, and Serena ended up losing in the final. I won’t make the same mistake this time. Because in the second major in a row this year, Serena Williams is back into the final. Serena defeated Anastasija Sevastova in the semifinal last night. Sevastova broke Serena in her first service game, and then Serena ended up winning 12 of the next 13 games. The scoreline: 6-3, 6-0. Yes, she fed Sevastova a bagel scoreline in the second set. It was beautiful. Serena started serving-and-volleying and charging to the net like an old-schooler. Her volleys and overheads were gorgeous.
Serena will play youngster Naomi Osaka in the US Open final. Osaka plays tennis because she saw Serena play years ago and wanted to do the same. Naomi’s father tried to follow the path of Richard Williams (Serena and Venus’s dad) to train Naomi for the game. Naomi beat Serena in Miami, so this will be a rematch. And it will be hard. And I’m not going to jinx her. I’ll just wish Serena luck.
A few more things – Serena’s fur-baby Chip was allowed into Arthur Ashe Stadium to watch his mom play. He took a nap through most of it:
Past his bedtime…
💤🐶🛏#USOpen pic.twitter.com/XMTNl9561U
— US Open Tennis (@usopen) September 7, 2018
And Serena is one part of this magnificent new Nike ad. Prepare yourselves – I cried, and there’s a good chance you will too. Colin Kaepernick does the voiceover.
PS… I know there are a lot Federer fans, Djokovic fans and Nadal fans out there, but will *some* of you please send out some good thoughts and vibes to Juan Martin del Potro, who is playing Nadal in the semifinals today? Please, he’s my favorite.
Photos courtesy of Avalon Red.
The best tennis player ever!
That commercial made me cry. I loved the part about Serena.
The last two commercials from Nike I’ve seen made me really emotional as well actually……(the other one was with Richard Williams directing her steps through the US Open).
I thought I was being soft/ridiculous for tearing up…..I’m glad to see I’m not the only one. 🙂
Not going to jinx anything either lol!
G.O.A.T!
I love Del Po but I’m rooting for my boy Rafa. Hope the match doesn’t destroy whoever wins.
The atmosphere will be so electric; Del Po had all his childhood friends fly over and they are YELLING between the points. Del Po and his Del Bros versus Rafa and the Rafans. It’s going to be great.
Yep. I just cried watching the Nike ad.
I need to find a way to watch some of these tennis matches with no cable.
I think it’s good Serena already played and lost to Naomi.She knows what to expect! I never saw her winning Wimbledon though her return and movement wasn’t all there and Kerber was the first defensive player she played since coming back. I still think her movement isn’t all there yet and that’s why against Stevastova she rushed the net to shorten the points so her movement wasn’t exposed.But all I care about is DELPO!!!!!!!
I loooove tennis. So excited my son wants to play.
My heart is a bit torn regarding this one. I would always wish Serena success but I think Osaka Naomi is such an amazing young lady so she should win. Can you imagine? Winning the US Open at the age of 20?
I wish the best to both of them. I am excited for this game
Naomi was a super efficient, super precise, icy goddess in her match last night. The kid has scary talent.
Queen!
Aw geez … I’m crying. Damn, Nike is killing it! Now I have to go out and buy a Nike shirt that I do not need to show that I support them.
And I’m rooting for del Potro! Juan Martin and Serena—those are my favorites.
Kaiser, I LOVE that you said you weren’t going to jinx it!!!! <3 Also, had to say I love that picture of her that's on the main heading, and is the bottom big picture. She looks SO BOSS, which, of course, she is. My fave athlete ever.
May I just say, once again, that I adore that this site has embraced your tennis fixation Kaiser? Babbling about tennis (ok, and tennis men) is my happy place, and now it’s all the more accessible. Gonna have to let you down on your request however – vamos Rafa!
Have to admit that I may have let a womanly tear go for the advert.
I LOVE DEL POTROOOOOOO!!! (I love Nadal too…) But Juan Martin deserves another grand slam title. I cant wait to watch their match!
*fingers crossed*
I got tickets for Saturday! I was at that Osaka v Keys match two years ago and have had a soft spot for Naomi since. She’s improved leaps and bounds and showed real maturity last night. But my heart is with Serena.
I’m going on Saturday too!! I definitely won’t be heartbroken if Osaka wins, I really like her but GO SERENA. I want Serena to be one Grand Slam away from taking down Margaret Court for the all-time record.
FYI in case anyone isn’t aware of why Court is the worst: https://www.sbs.com.au/news/they-re-after-our-young-ones-margaret-court-renews-attack-on-gay-lobby
Team Delpo all the way. I love his tennis and his presence, and its fun to have someone besides Federer, Nadal and Djokovic win. Juan Martin definitely has worked hard for it.
Come on Del Petro and Kishikori! Let’s do this!!
As I said on another thread, the Nikes I ordered in response to the protests over Kaepernick’s ad will be in today. Instead of going to see the problematic Peppermint, I’m going to take those Nikes and start breaking them in with a small 3 mile run after work. I need to get healthier after a summer of laziness and that Nike commercial you posted has been my motivation to hop on the treadmill every night I get home from work this week. There are no excuses for not realizing my own healthy dreams.
It’s just occurred to me that I don’t own a single Nike item, (mainly because they don’t make the best gear for my sport), but I will remedy that immediately and buy a few items off them just to show support for this celebration of humanity.
Another great reason to drown myself in Nike right now is to counteract the soulless american president whose doing his best to damage Nike, for daring to support Colin.
I get lazy with shopping. If I find a shoe I like, I’ll keep buying the same shoe. I’ve had my New Balance for years and now they’re starting to hurt my feet when running. I have high arches so it’s difficult to find a shoe that accommodates that. After researching running blogs and people with the same problem, I bought Pegasus 35’s. The good thing about ordering directly from Nike is I have 30 days to give these a try and if it doesn’t help, I can return them.
I figured I would order direct so they’d have the statistics on an uptick in sales rather than through a retailer like Kohl’s etc. Their website is rather inspiring. There are such diverse athletes featured I got to thinking, “That can be me if I just stopped being so lazy.”
I 💕 Serena. Maybe I’m just old and time is flying by, but damn! There seems to be no down time for her. For anyone on the circuit I should say. Grueling.
Vamos Delpo!!!!! He is muy favourite too.
Chip is adorable. Don’t know how he slept through the match. I was worried about Serena at first, then she kicked it up a notch and cruised. I appreciated the efficiency with which she dispatched Sevestova.
Naomi’s Family story was highlighted last night. I wish nothing but good things for her. She’s going to be a star for years to come.
Is she allowed to wear the Cat Suit at this tournament? If it weren’t for Serena I wouldn’t even know the US Open was going on.
My mom and I share a love for tennis, but I don’t have TV with all the channels etc. So my mom texts me all the updates throughout the day. We both love Serena too. My queen. Also, follow her on IG if you don’t already. The stories with her baby girl and Qai Qai are the best.
Bravo to Nike! Love Serena’s tutu.
As an older mom with a two-year-old, I just want to say how UN-FREAKING-REAL it is that Serena can do this. To have such command of her body and be in such form after giving birth A YEAR AGO and having LIFE-THREATENING COMPLICATIONS. I am more impressed by this than by a cabinetful of Grand Slam trophies. Her grit and desire to win are beyond anything I have ever seen in professional sports.