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Summary Serena Williams will take on Agnieszka Radwanska in the Wimbledon womens singles final today.
More than once during the past fortnight, Serena Williams has won an important point at Wimbledon and then returned to the baseline, her clenched fist leading the way.The ferocity of the gesture is understandable, given the obstacles she has beaten back in the past couple of years.A succession of infirmities led to a long layoff that forced Williams to mount a career comeback, and shell try to cap it Saturday when she plays first-time Grand Slam finalist Agnieszka Radwanska.Williams seeks her 14th major title, and her fifth at Wimbledon.Im so happy to be playing, she said. Ive been through so much in the past year or two years it has been unbelievable.The No. 6-ranked Williams has a shot at her first major championship since Wimbledon in 2010. Shortly after that victory, she cut her feet on glass at a restaurant, required two operations and spent further time in the hospital because of blood clots in her lung and a gathering of blood under the skin of her stomach.She was sidelined nearly a year before rejoining the tour in June 2011, and her ranking sank to 175th.With older sister Venus fortunes in decline as she deals with an autoimmune disease, some speculated the family might never win another major title.Now, with one more victory, Wimbledon will again become the Williams Open. Serena, Venus or both have reached the final in 11 of the past 13 tournaments. Theyve combined to win nine titles at the All England Club, and the sisters will try for their fifth Wimbledon doubles title Saturday.As has often been the case with Williams, her play in the tournament improved as the opposition became more formidable. She beat Zheng Jie in the third round, winning the third set 9-7, then edged out wild card Yaroslava Shvedova, taking the third set 7-5.Shes a big favorite against the No. 3-ranked Radwanska, the first Polish player to reach a Grand Slam final since 1939.Serenas playing amazing tennis at the moment, Radwanska said in a statement Friday. I dont really have much to lose, so Im going to try my best and well see.Radwanska is a steady, dogged baseliner who likes grass she was a Wimbledon junior champion in 2005. With a win in the final, she would rise to No. 1 in the rankings.But for the past several days she has been battling an upper respiratory illness that makes it difficult to speak and forced her to cancel a news conference Friday. Even when fully healthy, she lacks the weapons of Williams, whose big serve is especially well-suited to Wimbledons speedy grass courts.The championship is Serenas to win or lose, Evert said. She controls every point with her power.Williams hit a tournament record 23 aces against Zheng, then had 24 against Azarenka. With 81 aces in the tournament, shes eight shy of the Wimbledon record she set in 2010.During one stretch in her semifinal victory, Williams won 17 consecutive service points. No wonder she rates her serve as the shot she finds the most fun.Its the most reliable, like, OK, yes, you dont have to think, dont have to do anything, just hit an ace, she said with a smile. Its like a lazy shot.When she wins, Williams has taken to hopping on the grass like a grade-schooler at recess. But shes no youngster anymore. At 30, she could become the first thirtysomething woman to win a major tournament since Martina Navratilova, who was 33 when she won Wimbledon in 1990.Not that Williams feels like an old-timer.No, she said. Mentally Im 12.
