Saturday, July 7, 2012

Serena Williams wins fifth Wimbledon title, 14th career Grand Slam

(AP)
Serena Williams won her fifth Wimbledon title on Saturday, steadying herself after a mid-match wobble to defeat first-time finalist Agnieszka Radwanska 6-1, 5-7, 6-2 for her 14th Grand Slam title.
It was Serena's first major title since suffering a severe foot injury and pulmonary embolism. She became the first woman over 30 to win a major title since Martina Navratilova hoisted the Rosewater Dish in 1990.
Radwanska failed in her bid to get to No. 1 and become the first major winner from Poland. She fell out of the match early, getting broken in her first two service games and barely avoiding a first-set bagel. Radwanska hung tough in the second set after a brief rain delay. The No. 3 seed battled back from a break down to even the set at 4-4 with the benefit of a poor line call. With Serena shell-shocked from the quick comeback, Radwanska stormed to a 7-5 win.
The momentum shifted back just as quick. Serena steadied her nerves, kept up her powerful serve and earned an early break in the third. Her serve was almost untouchable. She had 102 aces for the tournament, a ladies record. The women with the second, third and fourth most aces in the tournament had 99 combined.
Serena's dominant play on Sunday continued a stellar run of play throughout the final week of the tournament. Serena broke a Wimbledon record for aces in her fourth-round win and then broke her own record three days later. In her final three matches, Serena played the Nos. 2, 3 and 4 seeds. She lost a total of 21 (at 4-3 in third) games en route to the title. The dominant final stretch was especially impressive considering her slow start at the All England Club. She was pushed to three sets in the third and fourth round against No. 25 Jie Zheng and unseeded Yaroslava Shvedova. Against Zheng, Serena needed a 9-7 third set to advance.
Serena and her sister Venus have combined to win 10 of the past 13 Wimbledons. The sisters play later on Saturday for their fifth Wimbledon doubles title.

No comments:

Post a Comment