Active Stocks
Thu Mar 28 2024 15:59:33
  1. Tata Steel share price
  2. 155.90 2.00%
  1. ICICI Bank share price
  2. 1,095.75 1.08%
  1. HDFC Bank share price
  2. 1,448.20 0.52%
  1. ITC share price
  2. 428.55 0.13%
  1. Power Grid Corporation Of India share price
  2. 277.05 2.21%
Business News/ Industry / Media/  Serena Williams wins Wimbledon, completes ‘Serena Slam’
BackBack

Serena Williams wins Wimbledon, completes ‘Serena Slam’

Williams' 6-4, 6-4 win over Garbine Muguruza is her sixth Wimbledon and fourth straight major title

At 33 years, 289 days, Serena Williams (left) is the oldest woman to win a grand slam since tennis turned professional in 1968. Photo: Suzanne Plunkett/Reuters Premium
At 33 years, 289 days, Serena Williams (left) is the oldest woman to win a grand slam since tennis turned professional in 1968. Photo: Suzanne Plunkett/Reuters

Wimbledon: Serena Williams beat Garbine Muguruza in the Wimbledon final, making her the first player since 2003 to hold all four major tennis titles at once.

Her 6-4, 6-4 victory over the Spaniard on Centre Court was her fourth straight title, allowing her to repeat her self-styled “Serena slam" of holding all the major singles trophies at the same time—a feat she also achieved in 2002-03 when she beat her sister Venus for the titles.

Williams’ triumph also puts her three-quarters of the way to completing the coveted grand slam of all four majors in one calendar year. Germany’s Steffi Graf was the last player to do so, in 1988. Her 21st major singles championship moves her within one of Graf’s Open era record.

“It feels so good," Williams said. “I can’t believe I’m standing here with another ‘Serena slam’. There was some pressure towards the end, but Garbine started hitting some great shots, and that made it even harder."

Williams started nervously, dropping serve in the opening game as she hit three double faults. Williams had been trailing 4-2 in the first set before recovering to take it 6-4 as she found her range on her serve.

The match looked to be over quickly as Williams forced a double break, and then held to love to go up 5-1. Serving for the Serena slam, she once again got nervous and got broken. Serving to stay in the championship at 5-2 down, Muguruza stayed calm to hold from deuce.

Missed opportunities

Serving for the championship for a second time, Williams wavered again, saving three breakpoints before setting up her first match point with her 12th ace.

Williams failed to convert as Muguruza ripped a forehand winner. The Spaniard broke on her sixth breakpoint with another forehand winner.

Serving to stay in the match for the second time, Muguruza handed Williams three more championship points. This time, Williams took it, on a forehand wide.

Williams didn’t have a good day on her serve, hitting 12 aces and eight double faults as she hit only 54 percent of her first serves inside the box. Muguruza produced three aces and two double faults. Williams hit 29 winners, almost three times more than her opponent.

At 33 years, 289 days Williams is the oldest woman to win a grand slam since tennis turned professional in 1968. Roger Federer, one month shy of his 34th birthday, plays Novak Djokovic for the men’s title Sunday.

New-found success

Since winning her fifth title at the All England Club in 2012, Wimbledon has been her least successful major for the top-ranked American. After crashing out of the third round last year, Williams rebounded by winning the US, Australian and French opens.

Williams had to fight hard for the last two legs of the Serena slam. At Roland Garros, she struggled with flu and had to come back from a set down five times for the first time in any major. At Wimbledon, Williams was twice two points away from defeat in the third round against 59th-ranked Briton Heather Watson, and then had to beat three grand slam champions—Venus Williams, Victoria Azarenka and Maria Sharapova—to reach her 25th major championship match.

In the Wimbledon finals, she overcame a player who had handed her the most one-sided defeat in a major; a crushing 6-2, 6-2 defeat in the second round of last year’s French Open.

The 21-year-old Muguruza had been the first Spanish woman in the Wimbledon finals since Conchita Martinez ended Martina Navratilova’s quest for a tenth title in 1994. Seeded 20 at Wimbledon, she’ll be ranked at a career-high No. 9 on the women’s tour next week. Her defeat means two-time winner Petra Kvitova remains the only player—male or female—born in the 1990s to have won a grand slam. Bloomberg

Unlock a world of Benefits! From insightful newsletters to real-time stock tracking, breaking news and a personalized newsfeed – it's all here, just a click away! Login Now!

Catch all the Industry News, Banking News and Updates on Live Mint. Download The Mint News App to get Daily Market Updates.
More Less
Published: 11 Jul 2015, 08:52 PM IST
Next Story footLogo
Recommended For You
Switch to the Mint app for fast and personalized news - Get App