#SW21 / @SW19 – ACHIEVEMENT UNLOCKED – WONDERFUL WILLIAMS WINS WIMBLEDON BY GLOBAL CHICK

Written by: Global Chick on 11th July 2015

#SW21 / @SW19 - ACHIEVEMENT UNLOCKED – WONDERFUL WILLIAMS WINS WIMBLEDON BY GLOBAL CHICK

Serena Williams of the US poses with the championship trophy following her win over Garbine Muguruza of Spain in the women's final of the Wimbledon Championships at the All England Lawn Tennis Club, in London, Britain, 11 July 2015. EPA/DOMINIC LIPINSKI |

With all the talk about nerves, and (perhaps even more disrespectfully) how Muguruza was just happy to be there, it was perhaps a stark reminder that even the great and the good get the jitters.

Serena Williams had hit just 13 double faults on her way to the final, but managed to find three in just her opening service game, as Muguruza broke, then consolidated to shut up the scoffers. An almighty holler in Williams’ second service game got her back into the fight, and more importantly on to the board.

The first signs that this could have been too good a start to be true came in the middle of the set, with Williams final pulling up break points, with Muguruza rising to the challenge reeling off four points in a row to stay that all important break ahead. It wouldn’t last, it couldn’t last in a final that had already rivaled the previous two years in less than its first hour.

Williams put the Muguruza serve under pressure again, and even the Pimmsies in the gods were gasping like fish out of water, as Williams was finally rewarded with a break back and she hit the front for the first time in the match.

With it all on the line, Muguruza threw in possibly the worst timed double fault in history to hand Williams her first set point – and she only needed the one to take the first set 7-5, having been on the back foot for most of it.

Garbine Muguruza of Spain returns to Serena Williams of the US in the women’s final during the Wimbledon Championships at the All England Lawn Tennis Club, in London, Britain, 11 July 2015. EPA/ANDY RAIN

You can bet your strawberries that Muguruza had to stay focused at the start of the next set, duly noted and served to love. Williams responded with another brace of double faults, much in the way one would order a couple of G&Ts to save from going to the bar again any time soon.

We were starting to see Williams grind up the gears, and a break for a 3-1 lead left Muguruza with a hill to climb, as she consolidated to love for 4-1, after Muguruza’s forehand took a leave of absence – probably in the queue for the strawberries somewhere.

Still don’t count out the nerves as Williams fluffed serving for a sixth Wimbledon title, and was broken right back to love, thank you very much. As much as she might say she doesn’t care about winning, Williams cares very much. Twice she served out for the title, twice, from somewhere Muguruza pitched right back at her.

You know, tennis is a cruel mistress – from one of the best fight-backs we have witnessed for a while, and certainly one of the most competitive finals we have seen for a while ended in the weirdest of ways as a Muguruza return sailed perilously close to the line, and for a second no-one knew whether to cheer for the winner, cheer Muguruza for a blistering return to keep her in the game or, well what!?

With Muguruza approaching the chair, umpire Alison Hughes looked just about as confused as all of us, eventually announcing Williams as the Muguruza herself approached Williams to congratulate her – #SW21 – Achieved.

Gone were the tears from the presentation ceremony for Muguruza, who gave into the swirl of emotions as she received a standing ovation when she received her runner’s up trophy. Instead were smiles, humour, and it has to be said an air of humility which is pleasing after last year’s self-aggrandising by Genie Bouchard was met with a straight sets bludgeoning by Petra Kvitova.

What stands out to us is the charm, the self-belief and now the motivation from this loss, as she explained in press, talking about the standing ovation and the ringing endorsement from Williams not to be sad as she would be holding the trophy one day very soon.

She said: “I couldn’t stop crying. So many people are clapping. I make all these people feel this in a tennis court? I was like, I don’t know. I felt special.

“I learned that [Williams is] also nervous, even though she played I don’t know how many finals. And she finds the way, being so nervous, to serve, to hit winners. She’s world No. 1. That’s what I saw today. I see it every day.”

“It’s good when you hear something like this from a legend. Well, in this moment I was like, Yes, yes, yes (laughter). Obviously, what are you going to say? Hopefully I can do it. I was close. It’s good to hear that. I feel better now (smiling).”

All this week Williams has been batting away all talk of the ‘Serena-Slam’ and even the ‘Grand Slam’ that awaits at Flushing Meadows, but cheekily admitted that even though ‘we’ were not allowed to ask, it sure did not stop her thinking about it.

Serena Williams of the USA in action against Garbine Muguruza of Spain during their final match for the Wimbledon Championships at the All England Lawn Tennis Club, in London, Britain, 11 July 2015. EPA/FACUNDO ARRIZABALAGA

“Oh, c’mon (smiling). You know, it took me a little while. I think when I did my interview for BBC after the match, I did the whole presentation, I did the whole walk around the court. I was peaceful, feeling really good. Maybe a little after that I started thinking about New York.”

“I know just last year I was just so down because I lost so early in three of the Grand Slams. By the time New York came around, I was like, I just want to get to the quarterfinal of a Grand Slam. When I won my fourth round match, I was elated. I was like, Yeah, finally.”

· ‘Serena-Slam’ achieved for the second time as Williams now holds the US Open (2014), Australian Open, French Open, Wimbledon (2015)

· Next up – Calendar Slam (just don’t mention it to Serena)

· Muguruza is a star in the making – she was engaging and funny in post-match press and there is no doubt in my mind she believed up to that last point she could still do it.

· On Sunday the whole shebang could conclude with another 30+ year old creating a little piece of history on the lawns of SW19.

Topics: 2015 Wimbledon, AELTC, Garbine Muguruza, global chick, Serena Williams, Tennis News, Wimbledon final, Wta

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10sBalls_com says:

July 11, 2015 at 3:17 pm

#SW21 / @SW19 – ACHIEVEMENT UNLOCKED – WONDERFUL @serenawilliams WINS #Wimbledon BY GLOBAL CHICK- http://t.co/jJnvxEPonM #SerenaSlam #Serena