Real Serena is back

LONDON — With a record-equaling 22nd Grand Slam title wrapped up, Serena Williams insists she will never get bored of winning and that is bad news for her flagging rivals. The 34-year-old American wrapped up her seventh Wimbledon with a straight sets win over Angelique Kerber Saturday to take her level with Steffi Graf’s Open Era record of 22 Slams. Next on the shopping list is Margaret Court’s all-time record of 24 Slams. “Serena is someone who beats records and not just equals them,” said her French coach Patrick Mouratoglou. “We will keep going. I think she will go far because she wants to do it.” Graf set her record with the tenacious Monica Seles constantly on her shoulders. Between 1988 and 1993, the pair won 21 of 24 Slams. Fast forward two decades and Williams, despite the occasional blip, is ruthlessly seeing off all-comers. Of active players, Maria Sharapova is the only other woman to have won more than two majors. The Russian has five but is currently sitting out a potentially career-ending doping ban. Despite their high profiles, the pair can hardly be said to have a rivalry — Williams has won 19 of their 21 meetings. Sharapova’s only wins over the American came in 2004. Kerber may have beaten Williams at the Australian Open final but the German trails 6-2 overall. Garbine Muguruza, who shocked her at the French Open, is 3-2 down in career meetings. Williams is 5-1 against two-time Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova, 17-4 facing double Australian Open winner Victoria Azarenka and 10-3 in her rivalry with former US and French Open champion Svetlana Kuznetsova. “I would obviously like to keep it up for as long as I’m still out here playing professional tennis,” said Williams. “Boring? No. It doesn’t get boring. As long as I’m winning, it doesn’t get boring. “Even when I’m not winning, it doesn’t, because it makes me want to work harder so I can come out and hold up titles.” This year’s Wimbledon showcased Williams’s enduring durability as well as her rivals’ frailties. Muguruza, the 22-year-old Spaniard who was talked-up as a genuine, immediate threat to the American, was knocked out in the second round by Slovakian qualifier Jana Cepelova, the world No. 124. Saturday was Williams’s 28th Grand Slam final, just six short of Chris Evert’s record. She has reached the final of seven of the last eight majors while nine of her 22 Slam titles have come after passing 30. Mouratoglou said that he felt as if the “real Serena” is now back after having gone without a Slam since her sixth win at the All England Club last year. — AFP