Serena extended her impressive run in Grand Slam finals, with the 6-4 3-6 6-2 win over Justine Henin at the Australian Open, marking her 12th victory in 15 Slam deciders Serena put an end to Justine Henin's hopes of a Grand Slam title on her return from retirement. Williams withstood a determined challenge from Henin before securing her fifth Australian Open title and 12th Grand Slam singles championship.
Williams won the last four games Saturday to clinch the championship in just over two hours, falling on her back in celebration after match point before shaking hands with Henin at the net.
It’s the fifth singles title for Serena at the Australian Open (the most by a woman in the open era, followed by Margaret Court, Evonne Goolagong, Steffi Graf and Monica Seles with 4 each). Williams adds number 5 to her tournament wins in 2003, 2005, 2007 and last year. This is also the third time that Williams has won both singles and doubles titles at Melbourne (2003, 2009, 2010). She hit 32 winners and 12 aces and broke serve 6 times. This win also marks the 1st time that Serena has defended her Australian Open title (and the first to do so since Jennifer Capriati in 2002).Justine Henin - "It's been a very emotional two weeks for me,'' said Henin, who put her hand on her heart as she thanked the crowd for support. "I thought it would never happen to me again. I'd like to congratulate Serena. She's a real champion.''
Williams had her right thigh, wrist and left knee heavily taped as they had been for much of the tournament. Serena holds an 8-6 lead in career meetings over Henin, including their last meeting, a 6-2, 6-0 win in Miami in 2008. At the time, it equaled the worst loss for a reigning No. 1, and Henin quit tennis two months later. Williams' 12th singles major matched American great Billie Jean King's career total. King was in attendance and took part in a pre-match ceremony to honor the 40-year anniversary of Margaret Court's four Grand Slam tournament wins in 1970.
1 comment:
Congratulations to Serena! She is an outstanding player and is having an excellent career. I just hope she never has another outburst during a match like the one she had at the 2009 US Open.
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