Serena Shellacked by Johanna Konta in San José

Published on 1-Aug-2018 by J Square Humboldt

Tennis    Tennis Daily Update

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Serena Shellacked by Johanna Konta in San José

This wasn't exactly waking up to discover that Buster Douglas dropped Mike Tyson over the night, but still.

When one of the greatest tennis champions of all time manages to win only one set in a match that only lasts 52 minutes, it can damn near be considered a hangover cure.

From that perspective, maybe Serena Williams' totally unanticipated 1-6, 0-6 smackdown by WTA No 48 Johanna Konta could be considered an act of compassion.

 

Frankly, it's a testament to Serena's career-long dominance that -- even at the age of 36 and returning from giving birth -- any defeat is portrayed as a stunning upset.

But this one's different.

Yes, it appeared that Konta took note of Angelique Kerber's strategy when defeating Serena at Wimbledon. However, so soon after that loss to that style, Serena wasn't even competitive:

 

No one could lift a finger to help her, either, because that bloody little pooch had hold of it.

Konta not only kept Serena pinned to the baseline, her accuracy compounded Serena's slack footwork.

When's the last time that happened, especially being out-served?

 

Older sister Venus continues to soldier on at 38, so maybe that suffices as a bitta sibling inspiration. Unfortunately, not much optimism exists in her 2018 performances, either, but Venus still believes.

So, while spectators at the Silicon Valley Classic are probably still rubbing their eyes, Serena's on her way to Montréal.

She'll likely be under more scrutiny than usual at the Rogers Cup. She can't do any worse. The question will be how much better than what just happened.