20th Grand Slam title lands in soaring Serena’s bag

World number one lifts third French Open trophy after comeback against Safarova


Afp June 06, 2015
Serena had never failed to win a Grand Slam title on the 17 occasions she had taken the first set in the final, and she kept that record intact in this decider. PHOTO: AFP

PARIS:


Serena Williams won her 20th Grand Slam title and third French Open crown at Roland Garros on Saturday, clawing her way back from a break down in the last set to defeat Lucie Safarova 6-3, 6-7 (2/7), 6-2.


In what was a disjointed affair, the 33-year-old American was coasting to a straight-sets win, a set and 4-1 up against the Czech 13th seed, playing in her first Grand Slam final at the age of 28.

But a combination of serving woes for Serena and some top play from Safarova forced a third set, the fifth of the tournament for the American.

She fell 0-2 down in that, but recovered her composure in the nick of time to rattle off six games in a row for the title.

With 20 Grand Slam titles, Serena is now second on the Open-era list, two shy of Steffi Graf. She is also now halfway to winning all four Grand Slam titles in the same year to complete the calendar Grand Slam, a feat previously achieved by just three other women, the last being Graf in 1988.

For Safarova, who reached the final without dropping a set, the consolation will be her debut in the world top 10, at number seven. And she has the women’s doubles final to follow on Sunday, playing with American Bethanie Mattek-Sands.

“She [Safarova] was a magnificent opponent for me,” said Serena. “She was very aggressive and I was a bit nervous at a set and a break up. It’s special for me because I don’t play well all the time here [in Paris], but I am so pleased to win my 20th Grand Slam here.”

Serena had struggled with a bout of the flu throughout the tournament’s second week, needing four times to fight back from a set down just to reach the final.

At 33 years and 254 days, Serena is just nine days younger than Martina Navratilova when she became the oldest Open-era Grand Slam winner at Wimbledon 1990.

She will now turn her focus to Wimbledon which starts in three weeks where a title win would give her all four Grand Slam crowns at the same time — a feat she previously achieved in 2003.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 7th, 2015.

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