DM72 Posted February 1, 2015 Share Posted February 1, 2015 For years we've heard of "Chasing Jack." But we never hear anyone say, "Chasing Steffi." One reason could be that Steffi Graf, for some strange reason, isn't considered as great as Martina and Chris. By winning the Australian Open yesterday, Serena is just 3 grand slams from tying Steffi Graf's singles grand slam record of 22. And on top of that, what Serena is doing is quite remarkable. Dominating a sport at the age of 33 is unheard of. She's not just squeaking into the finals, for the most part, she's steamrolling the competition. The only way she loses is I'd she beats herself. The way she's playing, she can definitely stay near the top for a couple of years. Women's tennis is probably the only sport that can actually compete with their men's counterpart. So it's kind of stunning that Serena's pursuit of the all-time singles record has gone almost unnoticed. I wonder will it pick up steam after she wins 2 more grand slams this year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stadium-Armory Posted February 1, 2015 Share Posted February 1, 2015 You're right, and I'll add that Lindsey Vonn's chase of #62 got more press than Serena and people generally care even less about ski racing. What gives? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StillUnknown Posted February 1, 2015 Share Posted February 1, 2015 She is an American sports icon. Its beyond crazy that her level has yet to drop in a sport that is somewhat notorious for players having short shelf lives. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skinswillwin06 Posted February 1, 2015 Share Posted February 1, 2015 You're right, and I'll add that Lindsey Vonn's chase of #62 got more press than Serena and people generally care even less about ski racing. What gives? She never truly caught on with the media outside of the tennis world. It's disappointing. I'm sure some people can think of reasons why. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corcaigh Posted February 1, 2015 Share Posted February 1, 2015 Serena's longevity in singles tennis is remarkable. I don't know if the lack of recognition is in part because she shared the limelight with her sister earlier, or because people still have animosity toward her overbearing father from the early years. Count me as guilty for some of the latter sentiment.  I think the Jack Nicklaus record is different because he's so far ahead of everyone (Before Tiger) ... Nicklaus with 18 while second place was 11 and no-one in recent years was close. For women's tennis it's ...  24  Margaret Court 22  Steffi Graf 19  Serena Williams 19  Helen Wills Moody 18  Chris Evert 18  Martina Navratilova  ... so 4 of the top 6 are from more 'recent' memory. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skinsmarydu Posted February 1, 2015 Share Posted February 1, 2015 Wow...believe it or not, this was the topic on the radio when I was driving to work yesterday morning. Question to the callers was, "Has anyone dominated their sport in the past decade like Serena?", and the only real responses that came out were Tiger & LeBron. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
China Posted February 1, 2015 Share Posted February 1, 2015 Yes it is amazing that she can play that well at age 33. Â Most players are done by then. Â So it will be a testament to her longevity if she surpasses the record, although she is not quite as dominant, as Graft set the record at age 30, so won more in a shorter period of time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StillUnknown Posted February 1, 2015 Share Posted February 1, 2015 19-4 in Grand Slam Finals. When Sharapova, who was 17, beat her at Wimbledon, people thought they would be legit rivals. Serena has won 16 straight against her since then. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kosher Ham Posted February 1, 2015 Share Posted February 1, 2015 Craziest part for me is when she said she doesn't really like to play tennis. I will try to find the article. Â I just think unfortunately (similar to Soccer) Americans don't care as much about tennis. Â She is and always has been an incredible talent. Amazing what she has accomplished. Â EDIT : http://espn.go.com/tennis/story/_/id/7419435/serena-williams-love-tennis-live-says Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G.A.C.O.L.B. Posted February 1, 2015 Share Posted February 1, 2015 I'm sure some people can think of reasons why. I mean when something is staring you right in the face... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kilmer17 Posted February 1, 2015 Share Posted February 1, 2015 Because it's women's tennis??????? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daveakl Posted February 1, 2015 Share Posted February 1, 2015 I mean when something is staring you right in the face... Chick sports. Only beautiful people get promoted. Otherwise why would us males watch? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DM72 Posted February 1, 2015 Author Share Posted February 1, 2015 Because it's women's tennis??????? I don't know where you've been, but women's tennis is a big deal. Don't lump it in with women's basketball or golf. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gibbs Hog Heaven Posted February 1, 2015 Share Posted February 1, 2015 This surprise me. I thought you guys where ALL about winners?  FWIW, she's highly respected and liked over this side of the pond. Not to the extent that the Queen of Centre Court Steffi or Chrisy Evert was (we never really took to Martina and BJK was before my time); but she's widely appreciated as an all time great.  And she always seems a genuinely nice, down to Earth girl who's really come out of herself away from the domanering influence of her father.  Hail. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sportjunkie07 Posted February 1, 2015 Share Posted February 1, 2015 It has always irritated me that the Williams' sisters were so much more genetically superior than their opponents. It cheapened their success for me. I can still respect what she is doing to a degree though and I like her as a person. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BRAVEONAWARPATH Posted February 1, 2015 Share Posted February 1, 2015 It has always irritated me that the Williams' sisters were so much more genetically superior than their opponents. It cheapened their success for me. I can still respect what she is doing to a degree though and I like her as a person. Huh? Â You're penalizing them because they're more talented than the people they compete against? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StillUnknown Posted February 1, 2015 Share Posted February 1, 2015 Huh? Â You're penalizing them because they're more talented than the people they compete against? Â That statement also ignores the overall work she put in to perfect her game. Athleticism only takes you so far in tennis. You have to be able to craft shots, and more importantly, know when to execute them. Serena, especially as she's gotten older, has worked damn hard to clean up her game. She really has no weaknesses right now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daveakl Posted February 1, 2015 Share Posted February 1, 2015 Now that's racist! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. Sinister Posted February 1, 2015 Share Posted February 1, 2015 If physical talent was all it took, Gael Monfils would probably be a multi grand slam winner Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Momma There Goes That Man Posted February 1, 2015 Share Posted February 1, 2015 It's a very impressive run and career no doubt and I enjoy watching men's tennis but I can't stand watching women's tennis and it's mostly due to the ridiculous grunting. I know that's stupid but it just makes it unbearable for me. Didn't the Williams sisters popularize that? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StillUnknown Posted February 1, 2015 Share Posted February 1, 2015 If physical talent was all it took, Gael Monfils would probably be a multi grand slam winner  His name popped up in my mind as well. He probably is the best pure athlete in men's tennis. Doesn't have a clue in terms of strategy though. It's a very impressive run and career no doubt and I enjoy watching men's tennis but I can't stand watching women's tennis and it's mostly due to the ridiculous grunting. I know that's stupid but it just makes it unbearable for me. Didn't the Williams sisters popularize that?  Monica Seles was the first one I can remember people complaining about. Then Sharapova took the title, & now Azarenka has it. A match between Sharapova & Azarenka has to be muted. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
endzone_dave Posted February 1, 2015 Share Posted February 1, 2015 I don't know where you've been, but women's tennis is a big deal. Don't lump it in with women's basketball or golf.  I like most sports but could care less about women's tennis. Tennis is not that big anymore in the US, like it or not. I just looked and there isn't a single US male in the top 20 and just two women (Williams sisters). It's a niche sport in this country and few people care how close someone is to catching Steffi Graf, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sportjunkie07 Posted February 1, 2015 Share Posted February 1, 2015 Huh? You're penalizing them because they're more talented than the people they compete against? I think they've always been on a different playing field that their counterparts, so their accomplishments are not as impressive to me. It'd be like a heavyweight fighting a lesser weight. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stadium-Armory Posted February 1, 2015 Share Posted February 1, 2015 Wow...believe it or not, this was the topic on the radio when I was driving to work yesterday morning. Question to the callers was, "Has anyone dominated their sport in the past decade like Serena?", and the only real responses that came out were Tiger & LeBron. Lindsey Vonn and Michael Phelps on that short list too. For perspective's sake, Tiger has won 40 times since 2004. Vonn has 64 in that time frame. I'm the only person in America who follows alpine ski racing though... One other thing about Vonn that somewhat relates to this discussion, is the amount of effort she puts in to connecting with the sport, its fan, and the sponsors. She is not a native German speaker but learned the language because of how big the sport is in Germany and Austria. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BRAVEONAWARPATH Posted February 1, 2015 Share Posted February 1, 2015 I think they've always been on a different playing field that their counterparts, so their accomplishments are not as impressive to me. It'd be like a heavyweight fighting a lesser weight. But they are on the same playing field as the other women. Â Same game, same rules. Â They're just better. Â Â Do you penalize a Barry Sanders for being flat out better than the majority of his competition or do you celebrate/marvel at his abilities? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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