T365 Recall: When Serena Williams cemented her greatness at the 2015 Miami Open

In 2015, Serena Williams cemented her greatness with an achievement only a handful of others have managed, and she needed just 55 minutes to do it.
The measure of greatness is not an easy one upon which to settle.
For tennis, the most common measure of a player’s greatness is their Grand Slam success, but it’s not the only one. Some cite the career Slam, and others back simply their own judgement on a player’s talent. Some demand all three and more.
However, by whichever way you want to measure it, the one thing with which everyone agrees is that Serena Williams is a true great.
And, in 2015, she reached another milestone that cemented it even further when she won the Miami Open, becoming just the fourth woman to win the same tournament eight times.
If you need any context for just how tough a task that is, then look further than the company Williams joined: Martina Navratilova (12 at Chicago, 11 at Eastbourne, nine at Dallas, Washington DC and Wimbledon, eight at Los Angeles, the WTA Finals and Orlando), Chris Evert (eight at Hilton Head), and Steffi Graf (nine at Berlin).
What was even more impressive was how she won it. Williams considers the Miami Open her ‘home’ tournament, and she certainly bossed it like she owned it.
In fact, she didn’t even need a full hour to banish a shell shocked Carla Suarez Navarro from court in the final, blasting her way to a 6-2, 6-0 win in just 55 minutes.
It was, and remains, an incredible display of sheer unadulterated authority.
“When I play with Serena, I know that she’s the best,” Suarez Navarro said. “She has the game to make me play bad.”
Williams won the final 10 games, including 25 of 30 points in the second set. That included winning 21 of 22 points on her first serve, and totaled 29 winners to three for Suarez Navarro.
That came after making a conscious decision to throttle back her serve too after struggling with it throughout the week.
“I improvised today,” Williams admitted. “I took some pace off to get my first serve in and it worked for me, because I haven’t been serving in this tournament the way I would like to.”
The result left Williams with an 18-0 record for the season and Suarez Navarro a top ten women’s player, the first with a one-handed backhand since Francesca Schiavone.
“I’d like to believe the older I get, the better I get,” Williams concluded. It’s always been tough to disagree.
Follow us on Twitter @T365Official and like our Facebook page.
More from Tennis365:
Latest
-
Tennis News
Andy Murray facing ‘huge year’, but brother Jamie says former world No 1 still has ‘a lot of great tennis in him’
Jamie Murray on brother Andy’s comeback hopes.
-
Tennis News
Daniela Hantuchova praises Naomi Osaka for being a ‘wonderful inspiration in women’s tennis’
“What a wonderful young grown-up lady she has become.”
-
Australian Open
Spanish player feels ‘abandoned’ after positive coronavirus test: ‘It’s the worst experience of my career’
“It’s far and away the worst experience of my career.”
-
Australian Open
Rafael Nadal’s thinly veiled jibe after Novak Djokovic quarantine pleas: ‘Some of us help each other privately’
Rafael Nadal has his say on the quarantine saga.
-
Kevin Palmer
Exclusive – Barbara Schett insists Novak Djokovic had good intentions with his letter to Australian Open chief
Barbara Schett talks to Tennis365 about Novak Djokovic.
-
Tennis News
Former world No 1 urges Australian public to give Novak Djokovic ‘another chance to explain himself’
“He was being a leader and it just came off wrong in the public.”
-
Tennis News
Ashleigh Barty happy to ‘knuckle down’ and get back into routine ahead of Australian Open
Ashleigh Barty ready for her big comeback.
-
Australian Open
2021 Australian Open prize money breakdown: Smaller cheques for winners, boost for first-round losers
A look at the 2021 Australian Open prize money.
-
Tennis News
Nick Kyrgios ‘very misunderstood’, but he will ‘always have your back’, says fellow Australian
“We’re almost brothers – pretty close.”
-
Tennis News
Changes made to ATP and WTA schedules to aid those affected by quarantine
Players will also be given priority for gyms and ice baths.