Serena Williams took another Wimbledon title and her fourth successive Grand Slam this past weekend; the 33-year old defeated the No 20 seed Garbine Muguruza from Spain with a 6-4, 6-4 victory to complete her second "Serena Slam" of winning all four major tournaments in a row.
In terms of statistics, this is Serena's sixth Wimbledon title - she won her first in 2002; she has played in 25 Slam singles' finals and won 21, just one less from Steffi Graf's record of 22 majors. She is also the oldest female Slam winner in the Open era.
Williams' opponent, the 21-year old Muguruza, has been a breath of fresh air at this year's Wimbledon.
Born in Caracas, Venezuela, and now residing in Barcelona, Muguruza stunned with her powerful groundstrokes and athleticism; after the final, she climbed to the world No 9 in the ranking.
The world No1, who relies on music to calm her nerves before she steps out on court, showed signs of a strain at the start of the match when her brutal serve failed her, as she double-faulted on the opening point. She made two more double faults in the first game and, soon after, Muguruza took the advantage and converted the fourth break point.
The Spaniard continued to thrill, as she managed to save two break points in her second service game and two more to give her a 4-3 advantage. But the world No 1 regrouped and punished the younger opponent, as she won the first set 6-4.
Williams made no mistakes in the second set and sprinted into a 5-1 lead, but then, against all the odds, the Spaniard kept herself in match by winning a break for 5-2, a hold for 5-3 and another break for 5-4. But the American finished the set 6-4, to win her sixth Wimbledon trophy.
With a prospect of a fourth successive US Open title at Flushing Meadow in September, she is now just a step away from a calendar Grand Slam with could equal Steffi Graf's record.
But, as life could hardly be going any better for the American, a lot of unfair comments have recently been made about her muscular physique and even her eyebrows. However, what matters is her motivation, endurance and her amazing athleticism, with the trophy case to prove it. Come on Serena! (By the way, the eyebrows got trimmed since).
