Serena Williams Rocks the Majors

NEW YORK -- Serena Williams is great again. Awesome. Killer on a mission.

The most dominant force in women's tennis. Should I say it? Unbeatable.

"I got nasty today, but to myself,'' she said, wearing a T-shirt pumping a new Nike slogan: Can't spell dynasty without nasty. "I was just screaming to myself because I wasn't very happy with my performance.''

Her performance was a 6-3, 7-5 victory over Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez to advance to the fourth round, the final 16, of the U.S. Open.

Not happy? I don't see it.

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Williams is standing out like a rock in a field of players doing its best to change the image of women's tennis from strong, independent women to a bunch of nervous Nancys.

And the truth is, Williams tends to start these majors a little slow, a little sleepy, and then build momentum. This is the best I've ever seen her look early.

She is sending a message to the game, especially to nervous No. 1 Dinara Safina, all the way on the other end of the draw.

"No, I have my own mental issues,'' Williams said. "So I try to get them worked out. Everyone has to battle themselves sometimes.''

Not Williams. Not in a major. She is focused, moving well, hitting her spots. It just seems like a given that she's going to win the tournament.

And this is exactly why I have been so critical of her lately.

We could see this all the time.

Maybe that's not quite right. Everyone turns it up a notch for majors. And I've heard the argument that if she were to play this hard all the time, like during any of the 44 weeks a year when there's not at a major being played, that she would burn out like so many of these other basket cases on tour. On top of that, tennis is defined by its majors.

Actually, I agree with all of that. But there's a balance she needs to find better than what she's giving now.

She gives no effort in non-majors. None. She tanks matches, mopes around and goes home. People buy tickets to see her, and she doesn't care.

But we have a Tennis Channel now, and a lot more tennis on TV, and all sorts of modern media writing more about the game -- and other games -- than ever before. Few newspapers even have tennis writers anymore. But in the modern media, well, I'm watching.

So her lack of regard for the regular tour and respect for the ticket-buying fans around the world in a harsh economy is going to stand out more now than it ever would have before.

You never see Tiger Woods in a tournament doing anything but trying to win. If he isn't up for the fight, he doesn't show up. The brand is of a winner who is far better than everyone else.

Serena could be every bit as special.

But 44 weeks a year, she's a fraud. The other eight, she's one of the greatest players of all time.

But this week, in such contrast to the other players -- excluding Venus Williams, Kim Clijsters, Maria Sharapova and little Melanie Oudin -- Williams has shown a toughness and focus more intense than even she usually shows in majors.

Her autobiography -- Serena Williams: On the Line is out, and it's sold on the grounds here. Someone asked her how the reviews have been.

"I've been playing this [tournament], so I've been working," she said. "I haven't had a chance to see the reviews yet. I've been doing the job that I've been doing."

I also haven't seen the reviews, by the way. Not one. But I already know how they are. Whether the book is fantastic or it's garbage, the reviews are glowing. For some reason, people don't seem to have the nerve to be honest about Williams in print or on the airwaves, even over things happening right in front of everyone's eyes.

Is it fear of her or her fans? The reason for mentioning that is this: I am going to always say it the way I see it. If you can't be honest about the bad stuff, then how can you be trusted when you say something good?

And the point here is that Williams is playing like a dream. It's hard to imagine her losing.

But no matter what happens here, nothing will change in the ranking controversy. Safina, far inferior to Williams as a player, is going to remain No. 1. You keep your computer rankings points for 52 weeks. And even though there's a premium on majors, Safina has outperformed Serena by so much in non-majors that her lead is big.

Consider this: If Williams beats Safina 6-0, 6-0 in the final to win her third major of the year, then Safina's lead over Williams in the rankings will actually increase.

Serena would replace her Open title points from last year with the same number of points for this year. Safina would replace her semifinal points from 2008 with finals points.

Whatever. If you want to see some special tennis, a superstar at her best, Serena has four matches left in the Open.

Then, she'll try hard again next year.

Email me at gregcouch09@aol.com