It’s a weird time in which we’re living. We’re all sitting in quarantine wondering how many times we can clean our kitchens, watch Space Jam, and if twiddling our thumbs is a viable way to pass time. Here at The Turf, we continue to be immensely thankful for all essential workers and what they’re doing to prevent the spread of this devastating virus and keep us all as safe as possible. In return, the best we can think to do is revisit sports history and find ways to keep you all entertained. We have to fill that void somehow, right?
Today we’re going down under and 10 years back.
Serena Williams enters the 2010 Australian Open final ranked number one in the world. She has already won 11 Grand Slams, and four of those are in this tournament. To this point, she has won every other year (in odd years) and is looking to successfully defend a Grand Slam win for the first time.
On the opposite end of the court is Belgian star Justine Henin, a former number one. Henin has nine Grand Slams under her belt, though hasn’t aced a final since the 2007 US Open. Granted, this is because she retired in May of 2008, and has since made a comeback. She comes into the Aussie Open unranked for the first time since 2001.
Each of these women takes one of the first two sets (Serena 6-4, Henin 6-3), laying the groundwork for an epic final showdown. Will Henin continue her momentum into the final set? Will Serena hit back and seal a record setting fifth Australian Open win and her 12th Grand Slam?
On another note, we at The Turf have always been of the mind that standing up for what is right and standing up in opposition to hate and violence is necessary. In that same breath, we affirm that Black Lives Matter. To donate to this fight, or for resources on how to help the fight against systemic racism in the United States here is a small portion of the many organizations and groups to consider: Black Visions Collective, LGBTQ Freedom Fund, The Okra Project, Reclaim the Block, Color of Change, Shed Light | Spread Light, and Black Lives Matter.
