When Williams beat stubborn Angelique Kerber, 7-5, 6-3, on Saturday – to catch 22 and Steffi Graf for her seventh Wimbledon title, ending a streak of three consecutive Slams without a championship – she flopped unhesitatingly on her back atop the grass of Centre Court.
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She can take the overall Grand Slam singles record..
However, with the Williams serve at its destructive best, there was only so much punishment she could absorb on a blustery court.
The Williams sisters also won the doubles title at Wimbledon in 2000, 2002, 2008, 2009 and 2012, and each time, one of them also won the singles championship.
The world No.1 saved the one and only break point she faced with an ace in the seventh game of the second set and broke Kerber the very next game before serving out the match to love after one hour and 21 minutes.
“I don’t think the answer is to continue to shoot our young black men in the United States, or black people in general”.
The sisters secured the crucial break at 4-3 in the opening set and Serena slammed away a smash to put them a set up. And she volleyed well, too, winning the point on 16 of 22 trips to the net, including a tap-in on the last point.
With her powerful forehand and double-handed backhand, Serena moved Kerber from end to end. But on Saturday, Kerber didn’t win one. Her response was typical of the champion.
Kerber, a German who knows Graf well, defeated Venus in the semifinals and hadn’t dropped a set on her way to the final.
Williams closed the match in style with three unreturned serves and a forehand victor.
“Definitely had some sleepless nights, if I’m just honest, with a lot of stuff”, Williams said. Coming so close. Feeling it, not being able to quite get there. Serena talked about how Venus has always looked out for her and how she has been working at tennis since she was only 3 years old.
“It was getting down to the pressure”.
“It was really tough”, Williams told BBC Sport. Together, the American duo has a ideal 14-0 record in grand slam doubles finals. And then its like when you taste something that tastes so good, you want it again and again and again, so it gets a little addicting..
“So I knew that going into this one, I just needed to keep calm, be confident, just play the tennis that I’ve been playing for well over a decade. Thank you for being that great person!”
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“I was not the one who lost the match”, Kerber said of the final. “Angelique brings out great tennis in me”, said Serena. But along the way there were distractions – trying to become a designer – and a curious attitude to the profession that, to this day, has seldom denied her the highest of honours when she committed herself to it 100 per cent. “We played a great match”.
