Time is on her side.
It's an unusual thing to say about Serena Williams, a player who turns 38 years old later this month. Even in an age when the longevity of the game's top players is stretching the boundary of what fans thought was possible, her biggest admirers recognize that there's surely only so many chapters left in this sure-fire Hall-of-Famer's story.
But that's exactly what her coach, Patrick Mouratoglou, said after her fourth-round win over Petra Martic.
"I think it's important that she's coming back from being a mother," Mouratoglou said. "You can't come back in the same shape as before in a few months. It takes time. You know it's a big thing, a big transformation for the body. It's also a new responsibility, so I think it takes time to come back to the person you were before, especially physically for a top athlete.
"She was able to still to reach three Grand Slam finals, which I think was really an incredible effort. But I said that, and I feel that time works for her, and I know it can sound strange because she's not very young, but still I think so for the reasons I just explained. So I feel she's moving better now than she was a few months ago. She also was injured a lot. Before the tournament, I felt she was ready, and what I saw the first week, I didn't see only great performances."
Williams has dropped just one set in reaching the quarterfinals for the 16th time in New York, and Mouratoglou said he has no concerns with the way she's playing or her ability to handle the pressure of chasing Margaret Court's historic 24 Grand Slam women's singles titles.
He said her improved level of fitness will help her in the second week of the US Open, especially as the matches get progressively harder, the stakes build and the ability to quickly switch to a plan 'B' becomes essential if her power-first, strike-first plan 'A' fails to yield the expected results.
"I think the level is rising," Mouratoglou said. "I was very happy with today's match and also with the previous one, actually. I have no concerns at all. I'm quite happy. Clearly the goal is not to lose in final. It happened three times. When you have emotions and you're tighter than usual, it's important for you to have a plan 'B', to feel like, okay, if this doesn't work I can do other things. And when you're not fit, you don't have a plan 'B'. I mean, the level of stress goes to another level, because you have no other option and the 'option 1' is not working.
"That's why I thought that it was very important for her to get back again to her best shape to have the movements, because when you're able to move well, even if you don't hit the ball the way you want, you can still put the ball in play, rally and slowly but surely get your rhythm back. And also you have other options. I have seen her very tight or nervous in the past in other Grand Slam finals, not playing well but winning because she had many other options that she didn't have the last three."
