Serena Williams has won many remarkable matches in her career, often snatching victory from the jaws of her opponents. The US Open 2008 final between Serena Williams and Jelena Jankovic was brought out recently by the tournament’s YouTube page.
Williams won the match and won $1.5 million with it. However, it was at this precise moment at the presentation ceremony that Jelena Jankovic asked a hilarious question, lightening the mood for everyone.
The Serbian came into that tournament as the world’s best player who won nearly all her matches in straight sets. But after her loss in the final, Jankovic lost the top ranking to Serena as well as the opportunity to make more money from the tournament.
After Serena Williams received $1.5 million check, Jankovic asked someone how much did she get. According to New York Times, the media personnel present were left in splits with that query.
Jankovic asked, “How much did I get?”
A presenter replied, “How much did you get? You don’t even follow this stuff.”
When Jankovic learned that $750,000 was her prize money earnings, she was over the moon. Even though it was exactly half of what Serena Williams got, Jankovic had an epic reaction to the same.
She continued, “So now I have a lot of money to spend. Tomorrow is my day to go shopping.”
The match was iconic even though Serena Williams won in straight sets, 6-4, 7-5. Both the players showcased moments of resilience and high skill levels, so any of them could have won.
It was a very special win for Serena Williams because she was out of the top 125 of the WTA rankings 18 months prior to that final. Despite winning the 2007 Australian Open title, Williams underwent a few injuries which impacted her performance on the court.
Serena Williams vs Jelena Jankovic US Open 2008 Final Was a Match to Remember
The match started well for Jankovic who led 2-1 at the start of the first set. Soon enough, Williams raced to 5-2 from there, and the Serbian could only play catch-up from there on. In the end, she lost 4-6. It was Jankovic’s unforced error to land the ball outside the court that gave Serena Williams the win.
The second set was a much more evenly contested between the two players. It was 3-3 at one point, with both players stealing a point each, one after another.
Suddenly, Jankovic raced to 5-3 (40-0) and it looked like the match would be proceeding to the 3rd and final set since the Serb was one step away from winning the second one. But Serena Williams had other plans.
The American legend won 4 games on the trot as Jankovic could not stop Serena’s rampage. After the match, Serena Williams was quoted as saying in the post-match interview:
“I’m so excited. I wasn’t even going for number 1, and it’s just like an added bonus you know. I was playing and playing and um, but I would first like to thank my God Jehovah for just letting me be here, and be healthy and just, oh my God, I am so excited.
“It is that special cause I’ve been working so hard and you know, I’ve been playing well, and then I didn’t play well, and I got injured…..”
After that, she went on to thank her entire family, including her elder sister Venus Williams, whom she defeated in the quarterfinals. Serena Williams won the entire US Open 2008 without losing a single set.
Serena has won nearly $95 million in prize money throughout her career. Jelena Jankovic, on the other hand, won $19,089,259 in prize money as per official WTA Tour figures. The big difference is because of Serena winning many finals such as the US Open 2008 as the Grand Slam is the highest paying Majors tournament in the calendar year.
