SEVENA WILLIAMS
Fairytale continues as Queen of Wimbers Serena equals Steffi’s Grand Slam record
She had Beyonce in her Players’ Box and Serena Williams yesterday proved that every single lady in women’s tennis has a long way to go to knock her off her perch.
The Amer ican – long considered to be the best female player in the history of the game – now has a share in the record that proves she is.
She matched Steffi Graf ’s 22 Grand Slam singles victories in the Open era by taking out Angelique Kerber 7-5, 6-3 in a match that oozed quality from both sides of the net.
And there will be more to come from Williams.
She might be 34 but she is head and shoulders above the rest, with only German Kerber – who denied her in the final of the Australian Open in January – a serious threat to her crown.
The No. 4 seed couldn’t have played much better on Centre Court yesterday yet couldn’t get close enough to have a real chance.
She managed just one break point in the 80 minutes they were on court and it was repelled by a booming ace by the woman who responds to pressure situations like no other.
It was gusty – and Kerber was gutsy in the manner in which she stayed in the contest against Williams, who served magnificently and put massive pressure on the German when she had the ball in her hands.
Kerber sur v ived an onslaught in her first service game and that set the tone for a hugely competitive match. The first set looked like going to a tie-break until Williams broke in the 12th game to take it 7-5.
The American stood one set from history but Kerber made her earn it.
The capacity crowd were captivated and wanted to see more. They went nuts when Kerber earned that break point at 3-3 but Williams showed what she’s made off.
Two aces followed to secure the hold and when she went after Kerber’s serve in the next game, a wildly sliced backhand from the German missed its target on break point to leave the world No.1 serving for her 22nd title. Three first serves
later, she was 40- 0 up. Another first serve, a flurry of exchanges and at the net she buried a volley before collapsing on her back as the enormity of her achievement hit her.
The champ got up, her arms aloft and two fingers from each hand pointing to the sky. 22. She might need to grow another hand by the time she’s finished.
Right now, though, Williams – who last night also claimed the women’s doubles title with sister Venus – is happy enough to have levelled Graf ’s record.
And although Australian Margaret Court has 24 – achieved before the Open era – she insisted that after losing in the Australian and French f inals, she’s going to enjoy the moment. Williams said: “Obviously it’s a great relief. But more than anything I think it was a really good and exciting win for me.
“I have definitely had some sleepless nights, if I’m honest, with a lot of stuff. Coming so close. Feeling it, not being able to quite get there.
“My goal is to always win at least a Slam a year. It was getting down to the pressure.
“This tournament I came in with a different mindset.
“In Melbourne I thought I played well but Angelique played great , she played better. She just played really
good tennis. 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.
“I’ve just felt a lot of pressure, I guess. I put a lot of that on myself. I’ve obviously had some really tough losses.
“But if you look at the big picture, I was just thinking about getting to three finals, Grand Slam finals. In the past eight Grand Slams, I don’t know how many finals I’ve been in. It’s pretty impressive.
“I’m definitely so excited to win Wimbledon. That’s always a great feeling. But maybe even more so is the excitement of getting 22, trying so hard to get there, f inal ly being able to match history, which is pretty awesome.”
Kerber contributed greatly to a superb match and she said: “I played what I could. I can just say Serena was serving unbelievable.
“At the end I was trying everything but she deserved it. She played an unbelievable match. We both play on a really high level. I tried everything.
“I was not the one who lost the match, she won the match. Today Serena deserved it.
“My dream was to win a Grand Slam, any Grand Slam. Then to be No.1. But my first dream was to win a Grand Slam and I’ve won one already. I know I have the game, all the experience to win a few more.
“Of course, Wimbledon is a really special tournament but I know how to get here and I hope that one day I will get the chance to play another final here.”