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| Five Point Wimbledon For Serena |
American powerhouse Serena Williams recovered
from a second-set wobble to defeat Agnieszka Radwanska and take her Wimbledon
women's title tally to five. The 30-year-old American won her fifth Wimbledon
title last Saturday on Centre Court, beating Agnieszka Radwanska of Poland 6-1, 5-7,
6-2 to claim her 14th major championship. With grand slam final debutant
Radwanska playing despite a respiratory problem, it appeared the sixth-seeded
Williams could choose how long she wanted the match to last when she took the
opening set for the loss of one game in 35 minutes.
Radwanska had been so severely affected by an upper
respiratory illness over the last few days that she withdrew from the doubles
and cancelled her pre-match media commitments. The 23-year-old, the first Pole
to reach a Grand Slam final for 75 years, recovered sufficiently to play, but
she might have wished she was back in her sick bed in the first set. Radwanska, who
was aiming to take the world number one position with a win - showed admirable
resilience and a fair slice of talent in the second set to level the match.
After hitting a backhand winner on match point,
she fell onto her back to the grass. She then rose with a grin as big sister
Venus — another five-time Wimbledon champion — smiled and applauded, along with
the rest of the crowd. After shaking hands with Radwanska, Williams climbed
into the box where her family was seated. She hugged her father, Venus, their
mother and others.
Williams has now equalled her sister Venus’s tally
of five titles at the All England Club, but more significantly the
30-year-old’s 14th Grand Slam crown is her first at the majors since her last
Wimbledon triumph in 2010. Inspired by the painful memory of her shock French
Open first round exit against Virginie Razzano last month, Serena has spent the
last month in a determined bid to re-establish her primacy. It is mission
accomplished, but only just.
Serena, who pocketed a cheque for £1.15 million, is
the first woman over 30 to win Wimbledon since Martina Navratilova in 1990 and
she needed all the experience gathered over her illustrious career to survive a
remarkable revival from Radwanska. Williams is the first woman in her 30s
to win a Wimbledon title since Martina Navratilova, who won at the All England
Club in 1990 when she was 33.
