When Serena Williams serves badly she works on it. When she curtsies badly she works on it. To judge from her performance yesterday, she can relax about her service action but needs to pay extra attention to how she greets the Queen if, as expected, Her Majesty is in the Royal Box tomorrow.
After her 6-0, 6-4 victory over Michelle Larcher de Brito, Williams half-curtsied, half-bowed in a selfconscious flourish. “I think I flubbed it, so I’m definitely going to work on it a little more,” she said. “But my curtsy is really fun. It’s something that she’ll definitely never forget. I’m looking forward to nailing it.”
Her Portuguese opponent will never forget her Centre Court experience. The 17-year-old was in danger of being overpowered but her burst of vigour in the second set brought a tidal wave of support from the spectators who cheered her pluck and occasional inspired shots. The support began as a means of encouragement for her to win a game, any game, but was for a few moments in recognition that her fightback was potentially more than an exercise in finding some pride.
Williams, the three-time Wimbledon champion, has the World Cup finals to thank for not letting the support for her opponent rile her and she likened the cheers for Larcher de Brito to the way she felt when watching North Korea.
“I really got behind North Korea,” she said. “My heart went out to them, especially against Brazil. I was glad to watch the soccer because it helps my tennis game [and I] realise maybe they’re just rooting for the underdog.”
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Williams walked on to the court in a shiny cream bolero jacket, the sort worn by bridesmaids, then revealed a tennis outfit that she has named “Strawberries and cream”.
The world No 1 also revealed a startling serve that produced 15 aces and 100 per cent efficiency when her first serve was good. For added potency, she tended to produce an ace immediately after Larcher de Brito had been able to win a point.
Williams will set out her practice schedule today to fit in around the United States’ World Cup match against Algeria. “I’m jumping, I’m screaming, I’m punching the air. I’m really, really into it,” she said of following her country’s progress in South Africa.
For any other defending champion in whatever sport, these distractions — the fashion, the excitement at the prospect of meeting the Queen, the football — might be a concern. But a relaxed and diverted Serena Williams is the most lethal kind. “It was good to get someone that hit really hard early on,” she said.
On the other hand she could have done with facing a woman whose second serve did not invite just a touch of scorn — late in the match Williams even replied to it with a drop shot.
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Not surprisingly, the Queen could be watching tomorrow the woman most likely to reach the final. “She’s missed some generations of incredible tennis players,” Williams said. But the No 1 seed, together with Venus, her sister, form a special category that Her Majesty has missed all on its own.