Serena Williams won her seventh Wimbledon title this afternoon, cementing her place as one of the greatest athletes of all time, female or not.
The inspirational tennis star 's victory over Angelique Kerber today marked her 22nd major championship victory, equalling tennis great Steffi Graf's Open-era record. Only Margaret Court, who earned 24 such titles between 1960 to 1973, has won more.
Kerber, who beat Williams this January in a surprising upset in the final of the Australian Open, entered today's final against Williams having yet to lose a set at Wimbledon. But that didn't stop Williams from fighting her way to a straight-sets victory with a score of 7-5, 6-3.
And the now record-holding superstar is feeling rather zen about it all. “I feel a little different,” Williams told the Times. “I just feel more relaxed and more at peace than I may have been in the past.”
Perhaps being cheered on courtside by none other than Lemonade creator and music video co-star Beyonce and husband Jay Z helped?
The 👑 watching the 👑...@Beyonce has made her way to #Wimbledon to see @serenawilliams in action. pic.twitter.com/u11Xu9Wo8Q
— ESPNTennis (@ESPNTennis) July 9, 2016
Next up, Williams and sister Venus will compete for the women’s doubles title against Timea Babos and Yaroslava Shvedova for another milestone: If victorious, the Williams sisters will hold a total of 14 Grand Slam doubles championships, tying them with Gigi Fernandez and Natasha Zvereva for second in the Open era. Not too shabby, sisters. Not too shabby at all.
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