QUEENS, N.Y.—We’ve seen this film starring Serena Williams many times. Playing tennis versus a lesser-known opponent, Williams starts slow, almost sleepily, as if she didn’t have a proper morning coffee, and isn’t ready to break out the Full Serena. Quickly, the lesser-known opponent wins a few games, then another few, and finds herself up, playing free and fearlessly. Williams, meanwhile, looks irritated, at odds with herself, to the point we all start quietly thinking Uh-oh, Serena’s gonna lose, because Williams has been vulnerable in recent years, and the lesser-knowns know this.

Source: Wall Street Journal September 09, 2020 19:42 UTC