PARIS — At changeovers in her French Open semifinal, an ill Serena Williams walked ever so slowly to the sideline, where even lowering herself to sit down seemed difficult.
With the temperature nearing 85 degrees (30 Celsius) on the hottest day of the tournament, she pressed white towels filled with ice against her forehead and neck and guzzled water.
In the early going, her play was as poor as her health. She failed to chase balls she normally would. As telling as anything: Even when she won points, Williams mostly refrained from her familiar fist pumps and yells of “Come on!”
You never can count her out, though, no matter the circumstances. Down a set and a break Thursday, and clearly not herself, Williams summoned the resolve to reach the final by beating 23rd-seeded Timea Bacsinszky of Switzerland 4-6, 6-3, 6-0.
After getting broken to fall behind 3-2 in the second set, Williams claimed the final 10 games.
“Stunning,” said Williams’ coach, Patrick Mouratoglou. “This is the difference between champions and everyone else. There is no logical explanation. She just has an ability to react when she is in danger.”
Mouratoglou said the No. 1-ranked Williams has been dealing with the flu for several days, including a fever and chest congestion that “makes it difficult to breathe.”
Now one victory from her third French Open championship and 20th major title overall, Williams faces 13th-seeded Lucie Safarova of the Czech Republic in Saturday’s final.
Next comes Williams’ 24th Grand Slam final, and Safarova’s first.
The left-handed Safarova eliminated defending champion Maria Sharapova in the fourth round, then defeated 2008 French Open winner Ana Ivanovic 7-5, 7-5 on Thursday.
If she can get past Safarova, the 33-year-old Williams would add to her French Open titles from 2002 and 2013 and collect a third consecutive major championship, following those at the U.S. Open last September and Australian Open this January.
Thumbnail photo via Susan Mullane/USA TODAY Sports Images
