“Twenty …. and counting” said Ted Robinson on NBC Sports shortly after Serena Williams won her 20th major singles title with a 6-3, 6-7 (2), 6-2 win over No. 13 Lucie Safarova in the women’s singles final at Roland Garros.
Williams made yet another argument in her case for being the greatest women’s tennis player of all time, drawing within two majors of tying Steffi Graf’s Open Era record total of 22 majors and the 24 major singles titles won by Margaret Court won over the Open and Amateur Eras (pre 1968). The win placed Williams as the most prolific American winner of major singles titles, breaking her away from Helen Wills Moody, who won 19 majors in the 1920s and 1930s.
In her post-match interview on NBC with Mary Carillo, Williams described her 20th major title as “by far the most dramatic” by virtue of numerous struggles throughout her seven-match run to the title, calling her adversity a “nightmare.” She was extended to three sets five times.
She lost the first set in the second round to No. 103-ranked Anna-Lena Friedsam, trailed a set and 4-2 in the third round to Vika Azarenka, lost the first set to No. 41 Sloane Stephens in the fourth round and trailed by a set and a break down in the semifinals to No. 23-ranked Timea Bacsinszky, suffering terribly from the flu but rallying to win the last 10 games of the match.
Against Safarova, playing in her first career Grand Slam singles final, Williams seemed poised to close out a straight set win leading by a set and 4-1 in the second set, but Williams told Carillo that she “choked,” losing her serve three times, losing the second-set tie-breaker and trailing by a service break 2-0 in the third set.
“I got really nervous,” Williams told Carillo, also citing Safarova’s strong and stress-free hitting. “It was a big moment for me to get to 20 (majors). ….I got so upset when I was down 2-0 (in the third). I just needed to step it up.”
Williams ended the match by sweeping the last six games of the match – an amazing stretch of victorious tennis to go with her 10-game run to end her semifinal match.
“Unfortunately, I’m already thinking about Wimbledon,” said Williams to Carillo at the end of their post-match interview of her next goal, the tournament that starts in three weeks.
There’s no doubt, the undisputed current world No. 1 – and the debated No. 1 of all time – will be the official sports betting site’s favorite at the All England Club to win her 21st major singles title.
