Williams wins 6th title at Wimbledon, ‘Serena Slam’
LONDON (AP) — When her opponent’s final shot sailed out, Serena Williams wasn’t sure whether the match was over or not. It took a few seconds before the realization sunk in — not only had she won her sixth Wimbledon title, but her bid for another “Serena Slam” was complete.
Williams overcame a slow start, eight doublefaults and a nervy finish to dispatch Garbine Muguruza 6-4, 6-4 on Saturday for her fourth Grand Slam championship in a row and 21st major overall.
The win means Williams holds all four Grand Slam titles at once — completing the second “Serena Slam” of her career. What’s more, she secured the third leg of a calendaryear Grand Slam and, if she wins the U.S. Open, will become the first player to sweep all four majors in the same season since Steffi Graf in 1988.
“I can’t believe I’m standing here at anoth-
- er Grand Slam,” Williams said in an oncourt interview after the match. “I’m having so much fun out here. I just never dreamt I would be out here still and let alone winning.”
Williams, who won her 28th straight Grand Slam match, is now just one major title behind Graf on the Open era list and three behind all-time leader Margaret Court.
At 33, Williams is also the oldest woman to win a Grand Slam title in the Open era. She has now won eight major championships in her 30s, including her first Wimbledon title since 2012.
“It feels so good,” Williams said after accepting the winner’s trophy — the Venus Rosewater Dish — on Centre Court from the Duke of Kent. “It’s been a little while and you really appreciate holding it.”
Williams was broken in the opening game by Muguruza, a hard-hitting 21- year- old Spaniard who was playing in her first Grand Slam final, and fell behind 4-2. But Williams began playing more aggressively and ran off five straight games to take the set and go up 1-0 in the second.
Williams pulled out to a 5-1 lead but seemed to get tight and was broken twice serving for the match.
“It was definitely a little pressure toward the end, but I think Garbine just started playing really well and started hitting some great shots so that made it even harder,” Williams said.
Muguruza saved a match point and converted on her fifth break point to draw within 5-4. But Williams then broke at love in the next game to close out the match, which finished in anticlimactic fashion when Muguruza hit a forehand wide.
Neither player seemed to realize the match was over, and there was an awkward delay before Williams covered her face with both hands, then smiled and raised her arms in the air. After the two players hugged at the net, Williams hopped up and down on the side of the court with her arms above her head.
“I didn’t even know it was over because she was fighting so hard at the end,” Williams said. “I was like, OK, do I have to serve again?”