Serena Williams claims her ability to play without pressure was the key to unlocking her third Wimbledon crown.
Calmness on court helps American to Slam number 11
Serena Williams claims her ability to play without pressure was the key to unlocking her third Wimbledon crown.
The 27-year-old American landed her 11th Grand Slam title after beating sister Venus on Saturday, completing a comprehensive straight sets win over her elder sibling.
The Centre Court contest was swiftly over in an hour and 27 minutes after the No.2 seed outmuscled the five-times champion to record a 7-6 (7/3) 6-2 victory
"I felt I had nothing to lose," said Serena after winning the fourth all-Williams final at SW19.
"I just thought I would go out there and do my best and I was really excited when I won that first set. Then I wanted to stay calm and didn't want to get too pumped."
Venus, who was hoping to emulate the likes of Billie Jean King, Martina Navratilova and Steffi Graf by winning three consecutive Venus Rosewater dishes, admitted she was powerless to keep hold of her title.
No complaints
"I tried my best but she played so well, really lifted her game," the 29-year-old World No. 3 said. "I have no complaints. It was close. She played great, especially in the tie-break, just played a lot of great shots."
Despite picking up her second major of the year and third out of the last four after winning last year's US Open, Serena still remains behind Russian Dinara Safina in the world rankings
Safina will keep her place at the summit of women's tennis even though the 23-year-old has yet to win a major after being humiliated in the semi-finals at the All-England Club, when she won just one game against Venus.
And Serena took a swipe at her higher ranked rival adding: "I think if you hold three Grand Slam titles maybe you should be number one, but not on the WTA Tour obviously.
"My motivation is maybe just to win another Grand Slam and stay number two I guess. It's shocking. I'd rather definitely be number two and hold three Grand Slams in the past year than be number one and not have any."
