Serena wins fourth Wimbledon, passes King on all-time Slam list

Yahoo! Sports

Sat Jul 03 01:37pm EDT

Serena wins fourth Wimbledon, passes King on all-time Slam list

In a scene that has become every bit as familiar as strawberries and cream, a Williams sister hoisted the Rosewater dish at the All England Club on the first Saturday of July.

For the ninth time in 11 years, Venus or Serena Williams was the victor at Wimbledon, with Serena taking honors this year courtesy a 6-3, 6-2 win over Russian Vera Zvonareva. It's Serena's second straight Wimbledon title and her fouth overall. She now has won 13 Grand Slams in her career, moving her past Billie Jean King for sixth on the all-time list.

[Photos: Serena's big win]

Just as she did in her semifinal win over Petra Kvitova, Serena started her match sluggishly, splitting the first six games and keeping alive a modicum of suspense in a match most figured would be a rout. A break in Zvonareva's fourth service game gave Serena a 5-3 lead and the defending champion subsequently served out the first set with ease.

Zvonareva was quickly broken in the first game of the second set and any hopes she and the rabidly partisan crowd on Centre Court had of a miracle were dashed. Twenty-seven minutes later, Serena held her serve at love, threw her racket in the air and celebrated her fourth Wimbledon championship.

After the match Serena said in jest, "Hey Billie, I got you," a reference to passing the tennis legend in Grand Slams. From here, Serena can set her sights on her tennis legacy. She's five Slams behind Chris Evert and Martina Navratilova. That's a lot of work for someone about to turn 29, but with as dominant as Serena was during this tournament, it's not inconceivable that she could approach the two tennis greats.

Serena served 89 aces in the tournament, a women's record. She won 94 percent of first-serve points in the final and was perfect when coming to the net. It was a nearly flawless performance from the world's best player.

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