Serena has remained unbeaten in 31 successive matches and will go into Wimbledon as the overwhelming favourite. PHOTO: AFP
The American, fresh from her second French Open triumph, is on a 31-match winning run, the best of a career which is already comfortably into its third decade.
She is now just two grand slam titles behind the 18 won by Chris Evert and Martina Navratilova and four back from the 22 racked up by Steffi Graf, but believes her best years may still be ahead of her.
“I’m really relaxed and I enjoy every moment that I’m out there,” said the 31-year-old, who became the oldest Roland Garros winner in the Open era when she beat Maria Sharapova in the final earlier this month. “I always said that I felt like I have never played my best tennis. I feel like I can always do better and play better and I have always wanted to reach that level. Maybe I’m just trying to get there.
“I really believe age is a number at this point, because I have never felt so fit. I feel great. I look great.”
The statistics back up Serena’s confidence concerning her future prospects.
Since her shock first-round defeat to Virginie Razzano in Paris last year, she has won 74 of 77 matches on tour with further titles in 2012 at Wimbledon, the Olympics and the US Open.
In 2013, she has won 43 out of 45 matches, sweeping to victory in Brisbane, Miami, Charleston, Madrid, Rome and then in Paris.
Serena’s confidence is bad news for Russian world number three Sharapova, who is seeking a second Wimbledon title, nine years after her first.
Sharapova’s defeat in Paris was her 14th in 16 meetings with the American with her last win coming back in 2004.
Australian Open champion Victoria Azarenka is seeded second and the Belarusian will be looking to go further than the semi-finals she reached in the last two years at Wimbledon.
Poland’s Agnieszka Radwanska, who took a set off Williams in last year’s final, is seeded four, but her grasscourt campaign got off to a terrible start on Tuesday when she was dumped out of the Eastbourne warm-up tournament in the first round by US qualifier Jamie Hampton.
Another contender with something to prove is the 2011 champion Petra Kvitova. Sixth-seed Li Na leads the Asian challenge.
Five-time champion Venus Williams will be missing from this year’s tournament due to an ongoing lower back injury.
Svetlana Kuznetsova, a former French Open and US Open champion, also withdrew with a stomach strain.
Published in The Express Tribune, June 21st, 2013.
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