Serena Williams has won back-to-back Grand Slam titles for the first time since she completed a “Serena Slam” and after major setbacks the past two years, she is talking about smashing some records.Williams outlasted World No. 1 Victoria Azarenka 6-2, 2-6, 7-5 on Sunday to win her fourth US Open crown, becoming its second-oldest Open-era winner at age 30, and a 15th Grand Slam title, seven shy of Steffi Graf’s all-time record.
“Even though I’m 30, I feel so young and I’ve never felt as fit and more excited and more hungry,” Williams said.
“Even with this win like I’m sitting here so excited still to play the next Grand Slam and see what I can do. I love that feeling. I feel like it’s overdue.” Williams took her third major title in as many months after Wimbledon in July and Olympic gold last month on the same All England Club grass courts. “It’s so cool. I’m so excited,” she said. “To cap off the gold medal and then to come from the gold medal to win US Open is unforgettable.” Williams won her first back-to-back Slam crowns since she captured four in a row — the “Serena Slam” — from the 2002 French Open through the 2003 Australian Open.
And she said if she had not missed 10 Slams with injury, she might have won five more by now. “Yeah, I think so, but there’s nothing I can do about that,” she said.
Williams has won multiple Grand Slams in a season for the third time in four years, her 2010 and 2009 doubles coming at Wimbledon and the Australian Open.
Now Graf’s mark seems reachable.
“I never thought I would even come close to breaking those records but if I can play consistently and play some more matches at Wimbledon, then it will be awesome,” she said. “If I could win two a year it would be great. We’ll see.
“I will think about my legacy when I’m done. I have so much more I want to create for the history.” There was a time not so long ago when Williams wondered if she might ever play again, much less recapture her championship form.
Williams battled back from a right foot injury that kept her from playing in the 2010 US Open and battled blood clots last year that jeopardised more than her career.
She fought back into form earlier this year but crashed out of the French Open with a first-round loss to Virginie Razzano, her worst-ever Grand Slam performance and her only 2012 loss in 50 matches where she won the first set.
‘Greatest ever’ Serena my blueprint’
Victoria Azarenka hailed Serena Williams as the greatest player of all time on Sunday and vowed to learn from suffering a chastening 10th defeat in 11 meetings with the American veteran in the US Open final.
Williams captured a fourth title in New York on Sunday to take her career majors total to 15 with a 6-2, 2-6, 7-5 victory, the first women’s final to go the distance in 17 years.
World number one Azarenka was outplayed in the first set before staging a rousing fightback which saw her serve for the match at 5-4 in the decider before Williams called upon all of her experience and shot-making prowess to pull through.
“For me, she’s the greatest player of all time. She has taken the game to the next level,” said 23-year-old Azarenka, who was just 10 when Williams won her first US Open as a teenager in 1999.
“But I have to be positive because I feel like these kind of matches, every time I play Serena, it really pushes me to be better, to improve, to move forward. I have to be thankful to her for that.”
Djokovic ready for Open to scrap ‘Super Saturday’
“Super Saturday” at the US Open cannot end fast enough to suit reigning champion Novak Djokovic, who railed against the idea Sunday after booking a spot in Monday’s final against Andy Murray.
The idea was created by organizers in 1984 to showcase the penultimate day of the year’s final Grand Slam event, with both men’s semi-finals and the women’s final played on Saturday and the men’s final played the following day.
But as tennis has evolved, the stress of playing for a championship on limited rest after an often-gruelling semi-final has become tiresome for men, as have weather delays that have pushed five Open finals in a row to Monday.
“I’m not so sure about this Super Saturday,” Djokovic said. “I really hope that the tournament will consider changing things for next year. “Eventually playing back-to-back five sets with the top rivals, top guys, I think that’s ridiculous from the players’ perspective. “I think I’m not speaking in the name of myself only. I think most of the players will agree. Every other Grand Slam has a Friday/Sunday last couple of days.
