It could be nothing. Or it could be the problem that keeps Serena Williams from making history.
Call it the "yips" factor.
Serena Williams: More Pressure On Her Than Maria Sharapova
For the second straight Grand Slam event, mighty Serena could not close the deal. On Saturday, she lost to Angelique Kerber in the Australian Open final to keep her from matching Steffi Graf's 22 Grand Slam victories.
Williams was gracious to Kerber after the match, showing genuine happiness for the German, who won her first major.
Media's Questioning Provokes Serena Williams In Australian Open Early Rounds
But then came the news conference, where Serena put up her defensive front to the media.
"It's interesting. I mean, every time I walk in this room, everyone expects me to win every single match, every single day of my life," Williams told reporters after Saturday's match, according to ESPNW. "As much as I would like to be a robot, I'm not. I try to. But I do the best that I can. I try to win every single time I step out there, every single point, but realistically I can't do it. Maybe someone else can, but I wasn't able to do it."
The problem for Serena is that in her last two losses in Grand Slams, it hasn't only been a case of her opponent rising up to the challenge. It's been Serena falling victim to the moment.
"She exhibited all of the signs of a player who is feeling the pressure. Her racket speed seemed to come down, and her movement fell off. Overall, the numbers from this semifinal are quite remarkable."
That comment was from ESPN, not after Saturday's match, but rather after Williams' loss to Roberta Vinci at the U.S. Open, explained away by Serena because Vinci "literally played out of her mind."
ESPNW analyzed Serena's loss to Kerber, and nerves were a hot button topic again.
"We've seen it before when Serena gets nervous -- she loses her footwork and then tries to muscle her way through it," according to ESPNW. "Then, she ends up lunging and out of position. You can see it when she starts hitting her groundstrokes long."
That's why the fascination over Williams losing in Grand Slam events grows. Against the likes of Maria Sharapova, Simona Halep, Caroline Wozniacki and sister Venus, Serena is at her most dominant. Sharapova, who has lost 18 straight matches to Williams, is not seeing the same player that Vinci or Kerber did.
After dominating golf for so long, an older Tiger Woods was said to have developed yips at the start of 2015. And because she has to wait 3 ½ months until the next Grand Slam, Serena has to find a way to come to terms with it and re-train herself how to deal with it.
Which is astonishing for the best women's tennis player in the world -- just as it was for Woods.
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