After a two-year drought in Grand Slam tournaments, Williams claimed her fifth Wimbledon title on Saturday by defeating Agnieszka Radwanska 6-1, 5-7, 6-2. It was her 14th career Grand Slam singles title, and it may have been the most satisfying of them all. The scores might not suggest, but it was an excellent fight back from Agnieszka Radwanska who was a no-show in the first set. As the rain interrupted the proceedings, the Polish player got her act together and then bounced back in the second set. But it was very difficult for Radwanska, who has been suffering from health problems over the last few days, to stop Serena Williams, who definitely was the better player. In the third set, Williams was unstoppable with her flawless serves and it was something the Polish couldn’t do much about. But in spite of Serena’s dominance, we have experienced a great match. After two years of health issues and uncharacteristic performances, the 30-year-old Williams look as good as ever.
She started and finished strong against Radwanska, winning the first five games and the last five games. In between she was a bit shaky, but she was able to recover before it was too late. Once again, it was Serena's powerful serve that carried her to victory. She smashed 17 aces in the match, including four in the pivotal fourth game of the third set. After blasting aces of 114 MPH, 107 MPH, 115 MPH and 111 MPH, Serena won the game, tying the third set at two. She went on to win the next four, effectively closing out the match. That one game was symbolic of Serena's entire tournament, as her serve was the most dangerous weapon possessed by any player, male or female. Her 102 aces were a Wimbledon record, surpassing the previous record of 89, which she also set. In comparison, Radwanska had just 16 aces in the entire tournament, and as the folks at Sports Illustrated pointed out, Serena's number dwarfs those of the top men's players. But to her credit Radwanska kept fighting and, finally unfurling the subtle shots which have proved so effective over the last fortnight, she converted her first break point to level in the eighth game.
Serena Williams was crowned Wimbledon champion for the fifth time on Saturday (7th July 2012) as the American subdued a brave fight back from Polish third seed Agnieszka Radwanska to win 6-1, 5-7, 6-2 in a dramatic final. Serena, who pockets a cheque for £1.15 million ($1.78 million), is the first woman over 30 to win Wimbledon since Martina Navratilova in 1990 and she needed all the experience gathered over her illustrious career to survive a remarkable revival from Radwanska. After being completely out-classed for the first set and a half of her maiden Grand Slam final, Radwanska had Serena on the ropes before the sixth seed finally recovered her composure to reclaim the Venus Rosewater Dish in just over two hours on Centre Court. Williams has now equaled her sister Venus's tally of five titles at the All England Club, but more significantly the 30-year-old's 14th Grand Slam crown is her first at the majors since her last Wimbledon triumph in 2010. Inspired by the painful memory of her shock French Open first round exit against Virginie Razzano last month, Serena has spent the last month in a determined bid to reestablish her primacy. Serena's success has its foundations in a serve so powerful and accurate that John McEnroe describes it as the greatest the women's game has ever seen.
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