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I’m not going to jinx Serena Williams like I did at Wimbledon. Serena had a relatively breezy route through the Wimbledon draw, where she met Angelique Kerber, the same player she beat in the 2016 Wimbledon final. Only I jinxed her, and Serena ended up losing in the final. I won’t make the same mistake this time. Because in the second major in a row this year, Serena Williams is back into the final. Serena defeated Anastasija Sevastova in the semifinal last night. Sevastova broke Serena in her first service game, and then Serena ended up winning 12 of the next 13 games. The scoreline: 6-3, 6-0. Yes, she fed Sevastova a bagel scoreline in the second set. It was beautiful. Serena started serving-and-volleying and charging to the net like an old-schooler. Her volleys and overheads were gorgeous.

Serena will play youngster Naomi Osaka in the US Open final. Osaka plays tennis because she saw Serena play years ago and wanted to do the same. Naomi’s father tried to follow the path of Richard Williams (Serena and Venus’s dad) to train Naomi for the game. Naomi beat Serena in Miami, so this will be a rematch. And it will be hard. And I’m not going to jinx her. I’ll just wish Serena luck.

A few more things – Serena’s fur-baby Chip was allowed into Arthur Ashe Stadium to watch his mom play. He took a nap through most of it:

Past his bedtime…

???#USOpen pic.twitter.com/XMTNl9561U

— US Open Tennis (@usopen) September 7, 2018

And Serena is one part of this magnificent new Nike ad. Prepare yourselves – I cried, and there’s a good chance you will too. Colin Kaepernick does the voiceover.

PS… I know there are a lot Federer fans, Djokovic fans and Nadal fans out there, but will *some* of you please send out some good thoughts and vibes to Juan Martin del Potro, who is playing Nadal in the semifinals today? Please, he’s my favorite.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red.
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