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Serena Williams came out to play the women’s finals at Wimbledon on Saturday in a hurry to defend her title from last year. Vera Zvonareva, a first time finalist, tried to match Serena but ultimately didn’t have the power to challenge Serena and was crushed 6-3, 6-2 in little over an hour.
Early in the first set both women held confidently but the signs were there from the beginning as Vera struggled to redirect balls Serena put deep into the court. Zvonareva produced some beautifully deep returns herself but didn’t have the fire power to match Williams. When Williams broke for a 5-3 lead she screamed and pumped her fist in a low lunge position having just scrambled to produce an incredible passing shot. Vera pushed back to deuce in the following game after Serena missed some first serve. As soon as Serena got a first serve in the odds were against Vera with Williams winning 19 points out of 20 when she got her first serve in.
With the momentum firmly in her favour Serena struck again, breaking Vera in the opening game of the second set. Vera, disgusted, thumped a ball into the ground as she walked off to change ends. Serena dictated play, grunting as she produced heavy shots with incredible angles, Zvonareva sliding all over the court, desperate to fight Serena off. But Serena was in no mood to mess around, looking sharper than she has in her last few matches, leaping across the court to create winners from almost anywhere. Serena in a hurry is a very dangerous Williams indeed.
A double fault from Zvonareva handed Serena a double break, an insurmountable 4-1 lead. At the change of ends as Vera hung her towel over her head as she normally does, she briefly revealed an extremely distressed woman on the verge of tears.
Serena bounced, giggled and looked as though the match barely took anything out of her as she waved to the crowd. Vera, on the other hand, was devastated. To her credit she made a good acceptance speech, without wavering, remarking that the surgeon who operated on her ankle last year was in her box.
In accepting her 13th Grand Slam, and fourth Wimbledon title, Serena smiled and said “Hey Billy, I got you.” After surpassing Billy Jean King’s Grand Slam tally. Venus was watching her sister take the title with her new hair extensions on display.
13 and counting… Look out Federer.
