No. 1 Serena Williams and No. 2 Roger Federer are the oldest players in the top 20. Federer turned 34 earlier this month and Williams' 34th birthday is next month. Amid an overall aging trend in the sport, the two all-time greats are outliers in their staying power. On Sunday, they both beat younger challengers to win in Cincinnati.
Federer was more dominant, never dropping serve en route to the title in beating Andy Murray and top-ranked Novak Djokovic, respectively. Williams had a shakier journey: She nearly lost in the quarterfinals to Ana Ivanovic, sprayed double faults and won fewer than 43 percent of second-serve points in four of her five wins.
But this is the way Williams wins these days -- not always easy, but she gets it done. Williams has won the past four Grand Slam titles and is nearly an even-money favorite to make it five in New York at the US Open, which starts next week.
Federer trails Djokovic and Murray in the bookies' estimation. The past three times he won Cincinnati, he couldn't follow it up with a US Open title. If he can play like he did while dominating Djokovic and Murray in Cincinnati, he'll be hard to beat.
