Serena beats jet lag to win Stanford title
Serena beats jet lag to win Stanford title
Top seed Serena Williams overcame a week fighting
jet-lag to beat fellow American Coco Vandeweghe 7-5 6-3 to retain the
Stanford Classic title on Sunday.
Just eight days after winning her fifth Wimbledon
single title, Williams fought off a set point in the first set before
overcoming big-serving Vandeweghe, who had reached her first WTA final.
The 30-year-old Williams used her experience and
know-how to race past the 20-year-old, nailing 21 winners. Vandeweghe
struck 20 winners but also committed 25 unforced errors.
Williams, who had been contending with jet lag much of
the week after travelling from London to California, was satisfied with
the title run.
"I played well enough to win, but I can do a lot better
and play stronger," she said. "But there are a lot of positives and I
was fighting and I didn't quit.
"I survived and didn't play my greatest, but mentally I was there and that really helped me a lot."
Vandeweghe served for the first set at 5-4 but could
not convert her only set point when Williams ripped a cross court
backhand return off a second serve.
It took Williams six break points to break back to 5-5,
but the 20 year-old Vandeweghe finally handed it to her when she double
faulted.
"I been serving well all week and I still feel like I
served pretty well against Serena, but she's a great player and she
going to take advantage of opportunities, especially on second serves on
set point," Vandeweghe said.
Williams took a 3-1 lead in the second set when
Vandeweghe again double faulted and while she pushed Williams with her
huge serve and heavy ground strokes, she could not get a break point on
the Williams serve in the set and Williams sealed the title with a
forehand winner down the line.
Williams won her 43rd career title, tying her with her
older sister Venus for the most titles among active players on the WTA
tour. The world number four has now also won 28 of her last 29 matches.
She will now take a couple of days off, play an
exhibition match and then head to London to prepare for the Olympics where she will defend her doubles title with Venus and attempt to win
the singles gold.
"A gold medal will mean a lot to me, but I can't lay all my hopes and dreams on that," she said.
