For Serena Williams, the journey has just begun. It is a voyage that only a handful of athletes get the chance to undertake. But it is one that has left some of the greatest sportspersons we know frustrated and defeated.
It is not a simple road trip but a dauntig trek up the tallest of peaks. And on a glorious Saturday afternoon, in bright sunshine, Serena sighted the peak as she pulled alongside Steffi Graf, widely acclaimed as the greatest champion of the Open Era.
>Doubles delight for Serena and Venus
As she out-hit a resolute Angelique Kerber of Germany 7-5, 6-3 in the final of the 130th Wimbledon tennis championship, it brought her her 22nd Grand Slam singles title – the same number that Kerber’s idol and sometime advisor won.
>Herbert, Mahut win Wimbledon men's doubles
From the time she first won a Grand Slam as a teenager, it was clear to a few of us that here was a woman who could one day become a great champion. But along the way there were distractions – trying to become a designer – and a curious attitude to the profession that, to this day, has seldom denied her the highest of honours when she committed herself to it 100 per cent.
If, for a time, it appeared that she may not be prepared for that monkish life, then the entry of Patrick Mouratoglou to her entourage following a first round exit at Roland Garros in 2012 changed everything.
Patrick was more than just a coach as he told her she could become the best of all time and his constant presence in the players’ box infused life in an already very good champion. For, from that point, she has won eight out of the 16 Grand Slam championships she has played.
And now, after matching the great Graf, what is in Serena’s sight is the last leg of the journey – travelling from the land of the great to the solitary spot reserved at the mother of all peaks to the greatest of them all. With the great champion displaying no signs of slowing down, the hardest part of the journey continues. Where it will leave her is a matter of conjecture.
"Thanks to my family and thank you all," said Serena, not long after raising two fingers of each hand – signalling title number 22. "I have always enjoyed playing Angelique. She brings out the best in me," said the world champion.
Last year, after winning here, she became the oldest woman to win a major title in the Open Era, at 33 years and 285 days. A year older, she still seems hungrier than ever.
Combative Kerber
Kerber, for her part, is a tough and combative competitor. She simply did not give the match away to Serena today. Only last February, the German left-hander >had beaten Serena to stop her short of Graf’s record.
Graf knows her well and she invited the young woman to come and spend some time with her in Vegas where she spent three unforgettable days practising and playing with Kerber and her husband Andre Agassi.
Time was also spent on listening to the German great’s advice over the breakfast or dinner table, with Graf telling the younger woman that the first step to glory is to believe in yourself.
That is all very well, but it is just that such advice alone cannot help Kerber to beat Serena on grass at Wimbledon, especially when the great lady is serving as well as she did today.
Serena hit 13 aces , some of them in the face of adversity and never gave her German opponent a chance to get into the match and threaten to run away with her title. Her judicious sorties to the net also served her well as she won 10 of 12 points at the net.
With her powerful forehand and double-handed backhand, Serena moved Kerber from end to end. Serena had learnt her lessons from the Melbourne loss very well, as she herself acknowledged.
Kerber might have seen something like a sliver of light through the fortress in the seventh game of the second set as she set up her only breakpoint of the match with good returns. And Serena’s reply was immediate and heart-breaking (for the German): ace, ace and a great backhand winner at the net.
"I knew this was not going to be an easy match. I told myself to keep calm. At one point in the first set, I felt really stressed. Then after winning the first set, I calmed down and it helped," said Serena.
"I had to look at the positives and not think about the negatives. I have had great dreams. I did not come from money or anything. You just have to work hard for what you want," said Serena.
Comments
SHARE