Serena wins in Stanford

 

Originally published on: 01/08/11 10:45

The American overcame two breaks of serve to take the first set, and she never looked back from there, cruising into a 5-0 lead in the second set.

The title is the first on American soil for Williams since the US Open in 2008, and the win sees her leap into the world’s top 80 after falling to a low of 169.

“I hated those triple digits,” she said. “Now I’ve got to get to single digits.”

The win will come as great relief for Williams who spent almost a year on the sidelines with a serious foot injury and blood clots in her lungs.

“Coming back and hearing the claps when I walk out there are moments that I truly missed,” Williams said. “It’s so awesome to be back and to be a part of those moments.

“Not everyone can be a sports, I don’t know if ‘star’ sounds full of myself, but I’ve worked hard for that title. So, yes, I say it and I take pride in it.”

The victory over Bartoli was made all the more sweeter because it was the French woman who sent Williams crashing out of the fourth round at Wimbledon over a month ago.

“Serena, she can improve from one day to the other,” Bartoli said. “So you can imagine from one month to the other. I knew before the match started it was different than Wimbledon.”

Williams looked back on form throughout the week, steam rolling past Sabine Lisicki and Maria Sharapova in straight sets along the way, and she is now being touted as a serious US Open contender.

 

 

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