In 2011, as the Williams sisters battled illness and injuries, filmmakers Maiken Baird and Michelle Major were granted unprecedented access to their family home in Florida.
The following year, they released Venus and Serena – a documentary that gave an inside look at the Williams family and allowed the sisters to tell their remarkable story.
One of the more memorable lines from the film was younger sister Serena’s thoughts on growing up in the shadow of Venus. “I was never the one that was supposed to be good,” she says, “but I was determined not to be a statistic.”
Serena is certainly not a statistic. But then, it is impossible to talk about the world No 1 without mentioning the incredible stats she has compiled: her grand slam titles (21), her domination of peers (she is 55-6 against top-10 players since 2012) and her incredible longevity (her first grand slam title was in 1999).
Perhaps the most significant of those numbers is her recent turnaround, most notably since she turned 30 on September 26, 2011. Serena has taken part in 52 tournaments since the start of 2012 and has made it to the final in 31 of those, losing only two.
Eight of her 21 grand slam titles have come during this period, and last month she became the oldest woman to win a major following her Wimbledon triumph.
“I’m kind of in awe of her right now,” Chris Evert said in an interview with USA Today. “She wins the French Open not even playing well. She didn’t even play well at the Australian Open.”
Last week, Serena conceded she has not been playing at her peak, but she has been able to count on her tenacity to drag her out of difficult situations. There have been more than a few of them at the grand slams in 2015.
At the first three grand slams of the year, Serena was stretched to three sets in nine of her 21 matches (43 per cent), but she managed to win all nine. Before this year, 64 of her 298 matches at the majors had gone to three sets and she lost 19 of them (29 per cent).
In seven of those nine matches, Serena lost the opening set but still managed to find a way back. In previous years at Roland Garros, she had won five of the 11 matches where she had lost the opening set; this year, she fought to win all four. Prior to 2015, she was 26-12 in three-setters where she had lost the opening set.
Those statistics lay bare her increasing determination to win. Serena has always been an incredible front-runner (19-0 in grand slam finals where she has won the first set), but only modestly successful in fighting back (2-4 after losing the first set in grand slam finals).
This new-found ability to battle her way out of tough situations has brought her the Serena Slam II. It could well bring her the Grand Slam, too.
arizvi@thenational.ae
Follow us on Twitter at @NatSportUAE
Skewed figures
In the village of Mevagissey in southwest England the housing stock has doubled in the last century while the number of residents is half the historic high. The village's Neighbourhood Development Plan states that 26% of homes are holiday retreats. Prices are high, averaging around £300,000, £50,000 more than the Cornish average of £250,000. The local average wage is £15,458.
Tuesday's fixtures
Kyrgyzstan v Qatar, 5.45pm
A State of Passion
Directors: Carol Mansour and Muna Khalidi
Stars: Dr Ghassan Abu-Sittah
Rating: 4/5
Election pledges on migration
CDU: "Now is the time to control the German borders and enforce strict border rejections"
SPD: "Border closures and blanket rejections at internal borders contradict the spirit of a common area of freedom"
ULTRA PROCESSED FOODS
- Carbonated drinks, sweet or savoury packaged snacks, confectionery, mass-produced packaged breads and buns
- margarines and spreads; cookies, biscuits, pastries, cakes, and cake mixes, breakfast cereals, cereal and energy bars;
- energy drinks, milk drinks, fruit yoghurts and fruit drinks, cocoa drinks, meat and chicken extracts and instant sauces
- infant formulas and follow-on milks, health and slimming products such as powdered or fortified meal and dish substitutes,
- many ready-to-heat products including pre-prepared pies and pasta and pizza dishes, poultry and fish nuggets and sticks, sausages, burgers, hot dogs, and other reconstituted meat products, powdered and packaged instant soups, noodles and desserts.
Details
Through Her Lens: The stories behind the photography of Eva Sereny
Forewords by Jacqueline Bisset and Charlotte Rampling, ACC Art Books
What is Folia?
Prince Khaled bin Alwaleed bin Talal's new plant-based menu will launch at Four Seasons hotels in Dubai this November. A desire to cater to people looking for clean, healthy meals beyond green salad is what inspired Prince Khaled and American celebrity chef Matthew Kenney to create Folia. The word means "from the leaves" in Latin, and the exclusive menu offers fine plant-based cuisine across Four Seasons properties in Los Angeles, Bahrain and, soon, Dubai.
Kenney specialises in vegan cuisine and is the founder of Plant Food Wine and 20 other restaurants worldwide. "I’ve always appreciated Matthew’s work," says the Saudi royal. "He has a singular culinary talent and his approach to plant-based dining is prescient and unrivalled. I was a fan of his long before we established our professional relationship."
Folia first launched at The Four Seasons Hotel Los Angeles at Beverly Hills in July 2018. It is available at the poolside Cabana Restaurant and for in-room dining across the property, as well as in its private event space. The food is vibrant and colourful, full of fresh dishes such as the hearts of palm ceviche with California fruit, vegetables and edible flowers; green hearb tacos filled with roasted squash and king oyster barbacoa; and a savoury coconut cream pie with macadamia crust.
In March 2019, the Folia menu reached Gulf shores, as it was introduced at the Four Seasons Hotel Bahrain Bay, where it is served at the Bay View Lounge. Next, on Tuesday, November 1 – also known as World Vegan Day – it will come to the UAE, to the Four Seasons Resort Dubai at Jumeirah Beach and the Four Seasons DIFC, both properties Prince Khaled has spent "considerable time at and love".
There are also plans to take Folia to several more locations throughout the Middle East and Europe.
While health-conscious diners will be attracted to the concept, Prince Khaled is careful to stress Folia is "not meant for a specific subset of customers. It is meant for everyone who wants a culinary experience without the negative impact that eating out so often comes with."
Pearls on a Branch: Oral Tales
Najlaa Khoury, Archipelago Books
