With 5th US Open title, Serena Williams closing in on records held by all-time greats in women’s tennis
Serena Williams is the U.S. Open champion for the fifth time after beating Victoria Azarenka 7-5, 6-7 (6-8), 6-1 in the final earlier today.
It was her 17th Grand Slam singles title, one fewer than Chris Evert and Martina Navratilova on the all-time list, and five behind Steffi Graf’s 22.
By winning again at Flushing Meadow where she won her first grand slam crown back in 1999, Serena moved from being tied with Navratilova and Billie Jean King with four US Open titles into a tie with Graf who also has five. Evert holds the record with six.
At 32, Serena is in one of the most dominant and lucrative periods of her career. For the U.S. Open victory, plus the $1 million bonus for winning the US Open Series, she takes home a record $3.6 million.
Serena also became the first woman, and only fourth player (after Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic), to surpass $9m in prize money earnings in a season.
So far in 2013, she has gone 67-4 and won nine tournaments — and counting.
But until Sunday’s win, Serena admits she ‘felt almost disappointed with my year, to be honest. I felt like, yeah, I won the French Open, but I wasn’t happy with my performances in the other two Slams. … I definitely feel a lot better with at least a second Grand Slam under my belt this year.’
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