Serena Williams hails Tiger Woods’ influence as she continues her US Open run with a 7-5 6-3 win over Elena Vesnina on Centre Court.
Williams broke the world number one’s record by scoring her 100th win. She began her celebrations by giving Woods a standing ovation as he walked off the court.
Her sister Venus is also celebrating in style, with her second major title. The US Open final was the longest in Williams’ career, as she defeated Vesnina in just over three hours and nine minutes. She finished the match after two hours and 13 minutes.
This was the first time the two rivals had met at the majors, and Williams will have much to reflect on on Sunday in Abu Dhabi.
“I tried so much,” said Williams, who held serve throughout the match. “I played really good. They’re great players, but I also played good. If I can’t win, I at least try to win. It goes to show you just how happy I am.”
Williams improved from her defeat to Vesnina in last year’s final, when she was serving for a set point when the world number one took a shot at the line. Her serve went back up the line and hit a line judge.
“I thought if my serve hits the line again it will be over,” she said. “The linesmen put it up. It was a big moment and I just thought I was going to win that point. I didn’t know if they meant it. You don’t know what to think or when to think or which line judge to check. You just do what you have to do to win that point.”
Williams said she thought about the moment for the entire match, telling CNN that she wanted to wait for a line judge to say something.
“After it went up the line and I didn’t hear anything I thought, ‘OK, maybe it’s over and I’m going to go down two sets to one,” she said. “And then he just said, ‘Oh, that’s the line judge. It’s over’.”
Williams won the title in only her 14th US Open singles title. She has won this title 12 times, including the last two. During her career she has been at the top of the world rankings for seven weeks, and is now number one in the world.
Vesnina has won this