With the current state of women's tennis, the difference in Serena Williams losing a match, compared to all the contenders to her No. 1 throne is that she can lose and have it labeled as a positive.
Case in point: Both top-ranked Williams and world's No. 3 Maria Sharapova lost their semifinals matches Friday at the Madrid Open. Williams lost to Petra Kvitova 6-2, 6-3 on Friday to spoil her perfect 2015 season.
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She had won all 24 of her matches entering Friday's semifinal and was on a 27-match winning streak overall. So one loss was hardly going to make anyone panic about Williams' game. Serena also had a 50-match winning streak halted in Premiere Mandatory events (tennis tournaments considered one tier lower than Grand Slam events).
"These types of tournaments for Serena are all about training for the big ones, one of which begins in a little over two weeks at Roland Garros," USA TODAY Sports' For the Win reported. "And, to be honest, Serena's loss on Friday might be the best thing for her quest to win the Slam: The fewer hours she spends on a competitive court between now and the French Open is better for her chances at the Slam."
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Sharapova, meanwhile, showed that her form still needs some work if she intends to defend her French Open championship she won a year ago.
She has lost four of her last seven matches and dropped from No. 2 to No. 3 in the world.
"The conventional wisdom was that Kuznetsova's tank would be empty for Friday's early start against Sharapova," SI.com reported. "Sharapova won their last four matches, and Kuznetsova had not beaten her Fed Cup teammate since 2008. Yet she came out to play a near-perfect match to take advantage of a flat day for Sharapova. The defending champion saw just one break point opportunity in the match and struggled on her own serve. Kuznetsova broke her three times and kept the heavy pressure on Sharapova's vulnerable second serve."
So a rested Serena could be ready to play in the French Open in two weeks, and questions about her closest competitors remain.
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