His first serve became dominating, his backhand unflappable.
Particularly, Mauresmo's serve became better and better, yielding just six points in the deciding set.
Around the turn of this century, the serve became the most important shot in tennis, to the point of ruining the game.
Tossing the ball on her serve became a nightmare, and it is still a little wayward but manageable.
Moore went on the defensive, her serve became tentative, safety first aimed at getting it in and it was going down at 72mph.
Under these conditions, according to Allen Fox, the author of "Tennis: Winning the Mental Match," a powerful serve became essential: "The courts were lightning fast, and the balls were light.
This single change spawned more offensive tactics: the lower net allowed for harder, flatter strokes; the overhand serve became the norm; and Americans made the serve more fluid by adopting baseball's overhand throwing motion.
Her two brothers, George and Malcolm, had both joined the military, and Mrs. Rasmuson, eager to find a way to serve, became one of about 400 original officers selected for what was initially called the Women's Auxiliary Army Corps.
Venus was complimentary of Jennifer Capriati after their semifinal Friday even though Capriati, known for rushing on her own serve, became upset at Venus for doing likewise, staring her down.
But as Ferrer upped the aggression, the British number one's second serve became less reliable.
