Serena Williams sealed her 18th grand slam title to pull level with Chris Evert and Martina Navratilova on the all-time winner’s list after beating Caroline Wozniacki 6-3, 6-3 to win a third-straight US Open on Sunday.
The trio of champions all trail Steffi Graf, who set an Open-era record of 22 grand slam trophies. Australian Margaret Court set the historic standard of 28 crowns at the majors.
Williams received not only a cheque for 4 million dollars after also winning the summer hardcourt run-up series, but was presented with an 18-carat gold bracelet with an “18” charm.
“The number 18. I’ve been trying to reach it for so long, since the beginning of the year. I didn’t really think would I get there. It just felt so good,” she said, adding that she never could have imagined being mentioned with Evert and Navratilova.
“I definitely did not think I was going to win a slam this year,” she said, recalling that earlier this season she was ready to put the year behind her.
I feel really honoured and I feel really good. Just almost lost for words. I’m grateful to win a grand slam this year.
William totally dominated her best friend in the sport, allowing the Dane just one winner in the 40-minute opening set, an ace in the fourth game. The world number one ended with 29 winners to just four for her opponent.
Wozniacki was playing a New York final for the second time after losing in 2009 as a teenager to Kim Clijsters. The victory was the ninth in their series for Williams out of 10 played.
Wozniacki had no doubt she was well and truly defeated by the powerful world number one.
“When she’s on her game it’s not fun to play her, she’s so strong. She has a good serve and she puts pressure on you straightaway.
“I went out there a little nervous. I had a game plan in mind, but it was difficult at the start. I tried to push her back, but that really didn’t work for me. She really just stepped in and she was playing aggressive. She was playing better than me today.”
Williams extended her Flushing Meadows winning streak to 21 straight matches after claiming two on hardcourt over the summer in Stanford and Cincinnati. The title was the fifth at a grand slam for Williams
since turning 30.
Wozniacki will move back to a top-10 ranking after standing number one for two seasons.
