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Serena showed no mercy against Li Na in U.S. Open semifinals

• After "suitable rest," Serena will return to the court Friday night to play in the doubles semifinals with Venus. And with the finals on Sunday, there will
Jon Wertheim|
Serena showed no mercy against Li Na in U.S. Open semifinals
Serena showed no mercy against Li Na in U.S. Open semifinals

• After "suitable rest," Serena will return to the court Friday night to play in the doubles semifinals with Venus. And with the finals on Sunday, there will be scant time to reflect on this win. But this has the make the short list of Serena's "best ever" matches. Against a top opponent in form, on the biggest stage in the sport, Serena was peerless. Stats don't always tell the story, but they offer a lot of forensic evidence. Serena served well, returned well, kept the ball in the court and simply smothered Li Na. Last year, Azarenka came within two points of taking down the Great Serena Williams. But, boy, it's hard to see Serena failing to close out still another Grand Slam.

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Jon Wertheim
JON WERTHEIM

Jon Wertheim is a senior writer for Sports Illustrated and has been part of the full-time SI writing staff since 1997, largely focusing on the tennis beat, sports business and social issues, and enterprise journalism. In addition to his work at SI, he is a correspondent for “60 Minutes” and a commentator for The Tennis Channel. He has authored 11 books and has been honored with two Emmys, numerous writing and investigative journalism awards, and the Eugene Scott Award from the International Tennis Hall of Fame. Wertheim is a longtime member of the New York Bar Association (retired), the International Tennis Writers Association and the Writers Guild of America. He has a bachelor’s in history from Yale University and received a law degree from the University of Pennsylvania. He resides in New York City and Paris with his wife, who is a divorce mediator and adjunct law professor. They have two children.

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