Deprived of a record-tying 22nd grand slam title in the Australian Open and French Open finals this year, Williams got to No. 22 Saturday by defeating Angelique Kerber 7-5 6-3 in a high-quality Wimbledon final.
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After dropping that tiebreaker, Williams sat in her sideline chair and proceeded to smack her racket repeatedly against the grass, before flinging the equipment so far behind her that it landed in the lap of a TV cameraman.
“I think this is the most important thing for me, to handle this, find the way how to do everything”. “It makes the victory even sweeter to know how hard I worked hard for it. This court definitely feels like home”.
Venus Williams, Serena’s older sister and doubles partner, was watching in her guest box. “But my first dream was to win a grand slam”, she said.
But Mouratoglou believes the crucial factor was Williams finally coming to terms with her US Open loss.
Serena Williams, left, and Venus Williams hold their trophies after winning the women’s doubles final against Yaroslava Shvedova of Kazahkstan and Timea Babos of Hungary on day 13 of the Wimbledon Tennis Championships in London on Saturday. She was awarded the title after her astounding performance in 2015.
“I love gold. Not to knock the Olympics, but right now I am probably focused a little more on the slams, or at least I was with getting to 22”, she said.
On Saturday, during a 7-5 6-3 victory over fourth seed Kerber, her game oozed smooth power and even when her opponent fought tenaciously to stay in touch, there were none of the panicky moments Williams is occasionally prone to.
“I had just enough time to change and get my ankles re-taped”, Serena said about going from one match to the other. “You really deserve it, you are a great champion, a great person”, Kerber said. The younger Williams sister is just two short of Margaret Court’s record, who has won 24 Grand Slam singles titles to her credit. “We played a great match”, said Kerber.
The sisters, who paired up again this year after a two-year absence, have won 14 Grand Slam doubles titles together. I’ll take it one at a time.
“We talk a lot about this match already”. I know I have the game, all the experience to win a few more grand slams.
She said that was because she was calmer than ever – having chose to accept some “tough losses” and carry on.
“I will be able to definitely place this one”.
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At this point, Serena Williams might be the best tennis player of all time. Looking at the way she is playing at the age of 34, Serena looks like a hungry teenager who wants to be part of the pantheon of tennis stars.
