Serena Williams Wins Sixth U.S. Open Title
Over the weekend, tennis superstar, Serena Williams swung her way to another U.S. Open title; defeating Caroline Wozniacki 6-3, 6-3. While the win is her sixth U.S. Open title, it is also her third consecutive. The 32-year-old powerhouse, who won her first U.S. Open title back in 1999 at age 17 when she defeated Martina Hingis, won her sixth title at the same New York venue where she earned her first. Williams is now the second oldest female winner in tennis’ post open-era. After the match, an emotional Williams said “It is a pleasure to win my first Grand Slam here and number 18…I’m really emotional. I couldn’t ask to do it at a better place.”
The win puts Williams at 18 Grand Slam titles over the course of her career, making her one of the most “legendary” tennis players in history. According to the Women’s Tennis Association “Serena will receive a $4 million payout, the largest payout in tennis history, men’s or women’s.” However, even after such a great accomplishment Williams has remained humble acknowledging that at times she doubted she would make it to her 18th title and that the last weekend’s win felt “so good.” After the match, Wozniacki told Williams, “you’re an unbelievable champion and an inspiration to me on and off the court,” also joking “you definitely owe drinks later.” However, Williams, who refuses to get complacent, will not bask in the glory of her latest win for long, and is already talking of her desire to earn her 19th Grand Slam title. “I want to continue to rise and continue to play really hard and do the best that I can,” says Williams who many believe can break Steffi Graf’s open-era record of 22 major titles and even Margaret Smith Court’s overall record of 24.
Currently ranked at number 1, Williams’ career prize money has accumulated to an outstanding $60,881,179 making her placing her first among all female tennis athletes and fourth among amongst men and women. Although Williams will turn 33 years old this month, her age has not been a factor and she shows no signs of slowing down and Forbes already has Williams labeled as the greatest American tennis player, ever.
(Photo by Clive Brunskill/Getty Images)
