Clutch

Serena Williams. Enough said.

Clutch.

The only word that comes to mind when thinking about Serena Williams and her spectacular semifinal match against Elena Dementieva is clutch. Most people know, I am no fan of either Williams sister. But my hat goes off to Serena after that performance. Throughout the match she came up with the big shots when she seemed down and out.

Has their ever been a more important forehand than the one she hit down break point in the second set that grazed the back edge of the line? Has anyone ever seen such a Sampras-esque serving performance from a woman on such a big stage?

Originally, I did not think either Elena nor Dinara Safina (who faces Venus Williams in the other semifinal in a few moments) would stand a chance against either Williams sister. Elena gave me hope that at least one of the Russians would scrape her way into the final. Serena, however, smashed that hope with her serve. Countless times she would come up with a powerful serve that left me speechless. Throughout the match the ESPN commentators commented on how well Elena served. Yet I, however, could not get past how well Serena served when down and out. Both were going for their second serves. But I always had this feeling that Serena would not choke as she did against Kuznetsova in their infamous Roland Garros match.

With the match finishing only minutes ago I still can't fathom how Serena won. She hit a clutch volley down match point. She hit a clutch passing shot to get ahead in the second set. Serena just hit clutch shot over and over again.

I can't say this enough. I congratulate Serena on her herculean effort to defeat Elena Dementieva (who also deserves a hell ofalot of applause for her grit and determination) and I just hope she brings her clutch play back with her on Saturday as she battles her sister or Safina. Now I just hope this next semifinal can be half as good as the match of the year for the WTA.