Serena Williams wins Wimbledon, ties Steffi Graf’s record

Serena Williams wins Wimbledon, ties Steffi Graf’s record

Williams lifted both arms overhead and raised two fingers on each hand right there on Centre Court to show off the magic number after winning her record-tying 22nd Grand Slam title by beating Angelique Kerber 7-5, 6-3 in the Wimbledon final on Saturday.

“Definitely had some sleepless nights, if I’m just honest, with a lot of stuff,” Williams said.

[...] Williams stands behind only Margaret Court’s all-time mark of 24 (most consider the Open era record held by Williams and Graf to be the more important mark).

The victory at Wimbledon a year ago raised her Grand Slam count to 21, where it remained until Saturday.

[...] it makes the victory even sweeter to know how hard I worked for it.

There was a stunning loss to Roberta Vinci in the U.S. Open semifinals in September, ending Williams’ bid for a calendar-year Grand Slam.

[...] losses in finals to Kerber at the Australian Open, and to Garbine Muguruza at the French Open.

In the rematch against the fourth-seeded Kerber — the first time in a decade two women met to decide multiple major titles in a single season — the No. 1-ranked Williams came through.

Facing the left-handed Kerber’s reactive, counter-punching style, Williams dictated exchanges and compiled a 39-12 edge in winners.

[...] she could not keep up with the trophy on the line, although it was a high-quality final that was tighter than the scoreline might indicate.

Later Saturday, Williams earned a second piece of hardware when she and Venus defeated Timea Babos and Yaroslava Shvedova 6-3, 6-4 for their sixth doubles trophy at Wimbledon and 14th from all majors.

There had been some thought that Williams was really stung by her loss to Vinci in New York, that it was too big a disappointment to push aside and lingered, somehow, when she followed with the setbacks against Kerber and Muguruza.

If anything, I was able to show resilience that, no, that’s not going to shake me, you’re not going to break me,” Williams said, “it’s going to make me stronger.

Women’s doubles final:

Men’s doubles final:

Women’s Grand Slam singles titles

Before the Open Era, only amateurs were allowed to play in most Grand Slam events, preventing most professionals from competing.