Serena set for a year of raking in the records

SERENA Williams has won Wimbledon five times and will be a hot favourite to make it six when the grasscourt classic gets under way in just three weeks time in southeast London.

If she makes all the punters happy by doing so, she will, for the second time in her career, hold all four Grand Slam titles at the same time — and be halfway to just the fourth woman to win all four in the same year.

It is a clear sign of how dominant the 33-year-old American has become in the women’s game, 17 years after making her debut in Grand Slam tennis.

To date she has won 20 Grand Slam titles, just two shy of the Open era record of 22 held by Steffi Graf, and most ominously for her opponents, she seems to be accelerating.

Seven of those titles have come since she hooked up with French coach (and boyfriend) Patrick Mouratoglou in June 2012 after a stunning first round upset at the hands of Virginie Razzano in the French Open — the first, and to date only time, she has gone out of a Grand Slam event at the first call.

At that time Williams had been beset by a spate of injuries and lack of motivation. She credits Mouratoglou with turning things around for her.

“Beforehand, her career was full of ups and downs,” he said after her three-set win over Lucie Safarova in Saturday’s French Open final — her 20th Grand Slam title.

“I had the impression that she lacked motivation at times and also she was very often carrying an injury.”

Now, he says, she is perfectly capable of winning five Grand Slams in a row at Wimbledon and New York, although he cautions that it is still a big ask.

Helping Williams’s cause — another cause for women’s tennis in general — is the fact that the opposition is not exactly of the highest quality.

Part of the problem stems from the early retirement of Belgian pair Justine Henin and Kim Clijsters, both of whom were capable, at their best, of going head to head with Williams. Nowadays, long-time foes and prematurely annointed successors Maria Sharapova, Ana Ivanovic and Caroline Wozniacki seem incapable of beating her. Petra Kvitova and Victoria Azarenka both have problems with the pressure that comes at the top and young guns such as Eugenie Bouchard and Sloane Stephens have taken backward steps this year.

That left a Paris tournament that had no player under the age of 25 in the semifinals.

The stage, therefore, looks set for Williams to continue her domination of women’s tennis, as long as she stays healthy and motivated.