Ceci Ferrara
July 11, 2016
Sports Writer
Sports Insider
It was a familiar scene for Serena Williams on Saturday, but that didn’t make it any less sweet.
Her name was at the top of the Wimbledon leader board for the seventh time in her career, after beating Angelique Kerber 7-5 6-3 in the exciting, but lopsided, final. In addition to winning a historic 22nd grand slam title, the victory was vindication for Williams, who fell to Kerber at the Australian Open in January.
This time, Williams had the upper hand through most of the match, while Kerber looked defeated long before the match was over. Serena struck 39 winners and faced only one break point at 3-3 in the second. However, she saved it with one of her 13 aces.
“This tournament I came in with a different mindset,” said Williams. “In Melbourne, I thought I played well but Angelique played great, and better. So I knew going into this one I needed to be calm and be confident and play the tennis I’ve been playing for well over a decade.”
Despite her best effort, Kerber, who finished with 12 winners and nine unforced errors, fell short against the No. 1 star.
“Of course it feels disappointing, that’s for sure,” the German tennis player, who bested the elder Williams sister earlier in the week, said. “But also I know that I played a good final. I lost against a really strong Serena today. This makes it a little better, that I know that she won the match, not that I lost the match, because she played very well.”
With the victory, her second consecutive Wimbledon win, Williams tied tennis legend Steffi Graf with 22 majors, the most in the Open Era of professional tennis.
While now tennis fans will ponder if Williams will be able to surpass Margaret Court’s record 24 grand slam records, the 34-year old is still relishing in her current accomplishment.
“One thing I learned about last year is to enjoy the moment,” said Williams. “I’m definitely going to enjoy this.”
MLB All-Star Game
On Friday, Major League Baseball announced Max Scherzer will replace teammate Stephen Strasburg on the National League All-Star roster.
Scherzer (9-6, 3.21 ERA) leads the majors with 155 strikeouts. His best game of the season so far came on May 11 against the Detroit Tigers when he tossed 20 strikeouts to tie the major league record with Roger Clemens, Randy Johnson, and Kerry Wood.
Strasburg, a San Diego native, will attend the exhibition game but not play. The 12-0 pitcher explained his reasoning on Monday.
“It was something where the team wanted me to not do it, so them being my employer, this being a game that’s fun for the fans, my allegiance is to the Nationals,” Strasburg said. “They want me to make as many starts as possible, and hopefully quality starts, so I’m gonna try to do that. That was my biggest concern–being fully ready to go for the second half.”
Scherzer will join fellow Nationals Bryce Harper, Wilson Ramos, and Daniel Murphy in Tuesday’s midsummer classic in San Diego. It will be his fourth straight appearance and second as a National.
