The Albany Gazette - Serena Williams - US Open highs and lows

AFP Sport looks at six key moments in her career at Flushing Meadows where she is a six-time champion, boasts a 106-14 career record and has reached the semi-finals or better 14 times.

HIGHS

1999 - First Slam title

-- Just 17 years old and with white beads in her hair, Williams became the first Black woman to win a Grand Slam title in the modern Open era and just the second in history after Althea Gibson in 1958 to capture a major.

On her way to the title, she defeated Grand Slam champions Kim Clijsters, Conchita Martínez, Monica Seles, and defending champion Lindsay Davenport before beating top-ranked Martina Hingis 6-3, 7-6 (7/4) in the final.

For good measure, Serena and sister Venus also won the women's doubles.

One of the first to congratulate Serena was President Bill Clinton.

"It was very exciting. I thought for sure my day couldn't get any better. Next thing I knew, someone was telling me, 'The President of the United States wants to talk.' I was thinking, 'Wow'."

2002 - Sister v sister

-- Twelve months earlier, Venus had got the better of her sister in the New York final but this time Serena came out on top 6-4, 6-3, adding the US Open title to her French Open and Wimbledon wins secured earlier in the year where she had also beaten Venus.

Serena didn't drop a set in the entire tournament and when she went on to win the 2003 Australian Open, she completed her first 'Serena Slam' of holding all four majors at once.

"In the end, we're all competitors. Ten years from now, I hopefully can look at tapes and films with my kids and say, "Look, mom did a good job." I don't want to have it any other way," she said.

2014 - Past Evert, Navratilova

-- Her sixth and most recent US Open title came after a straight sets win over close friend Caroline Wozniacki in a final which stretched to just 80 minutes.

It was the American's third successive US Open title and gave her an 18th major, taking her past the mark of 17 she shared with Martina Navratilova and Chris Evert.

LOWS

2009 - Game, threat, match

-- Kim Clijsters had taken off nearly three years to have her first child and returned to the sport just weeks before.

Unranked and unseeded Clijsters won the first set with Williams receiving a warning for racquet abuse as she vented her frustration.

Williams was serving to force a tiebreaker at 5-6 in the second set when she was called for a foot fault on a second serve, giving Clijsters double match point.

Serena argued briefly, went back to the service line then directed a venomous rant at the offending lineswoman including a threat to "shove this ball down your throat."

The chair umpire assessed a point penalty for the outburst -- giving Clijsters the match.

2011 - Hindering and 'hater'

-- Chair umpire Eva Asderaki warned Williams for hindering opponent Sam Stosur for shouting "come on" before the Australian had reached the ball.

An angry Williams -- who confused Asderaki with the umpire who was in the chair for the 2009 Clijsters match -- verbally attacked her during the changeover.

"If you ever see me walking down the hall, look the other way," she said. "Because you're out of control. You're a hater and you're just ... unattractive inside. Who would do such a thing? And I never complain. Wow. What a loser. You give a code violation because I expressed who I am? We're in America last I checked."

2018 - 'Thief','liar'

-- Battling to get back in a match against a 20-year-old opponent, Naomi Osaka, playing in her first Grand Slam final, Williams was incensed to be warned for receiving coaching from her box.

Williams was further infuriated when she was docked a point for a second violation after smashing her racquet in frustration at dropping serve, calling chair umpire Carlos Ramos a "thief".

Broken again to trail 4-3, Williams continued to berate umpire Ramos.

"You will never, ever, ever be on another court of mine," she fumed. You are the liar," prompting Ramos to issue another violation and dock her a game under the ascending scale of punishments for repeated code violations and putting Osaka on the brink of victory.

(B.Hartmann--BBZ)