On the heels of winning gold medals with her sister Venus at the 2012 Summer Olympics, Serena Williams won the U.S. Open on Sunday. The Compton, Calif., native surprised herself with the win, which is her fourth at Arthur Ashe Stadium, reports the New York Times.
"I was preparing my runners-up speech," Williams said.
She would have been obliged to deliver it if the world's No. 1-ranked player, Victoria Azarenka, had seized her opportunity when serving for the match at 5-4 in the third set. Although Azarenka had done an often-admirable job of coping with Williams's first-strike pressure in this big-swinging final, she could not quite handle the chance to win her first United States Open.
She lost the first three points, two with unforced backhand errors, and then soon lost the game with a forehand in the tape. Williams, whose form and body language had fluctuated wildly after the opening set, would not lose her way again, putting an exclamation point on the feel-good story of her summer of tennis by closing out a 6-2, 2-6, 7-5 victory that will rank among her most memorable.
Read more at the New York Times.
Like The Root on Facebook. Follow us on Twitter.