Wimbledon 2018: The stunning transformation of Serena Williams



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Ten months ago, Serena Williams was hanging on to life.

After giving birth to her daughter Olympia in September, the tennis superstar was treated for blood clots, including a pulmonary embolism, and did not know if she would live to see her baby grow up let alone win another tennis match. 19659003] But traumatic memories of his complicated struggles can be put aside on Saturday night (AEST) when Williams plays Angelique Kerber in the Wimbledon final for a chance to win his 24th Grand Slam and Margaret Court's Australian record for the biggest singles

This will be his 10th participation in a final at the All England Club, but by far the most unique.

"This is not inevitable for me," Williams said after his semifinal 6-2 6-4. final victory over Julia Goerges on Friday morning. "I had a very difficult delivery, I had to undergo multiple surgeries and I almost did not, to be honest." "I remember that I could not even walk up to my mailbox, I'm in a Wimbledon final."

"It's a pleasure and a joy (to be in final) because it was less than a year ago, I was going through so many things. "

No one can accuse Williams of being" normal "on the field. of superheroes as mere mortal with a racket in his hand – and this has never been so obvious as at Wimbledon this year.

At his fourth tournament since his maternity, the l? American dropped only one set – in her quarter-final against Camilia Giorgi – en route to reach the final.After surviving this fear against the Italian, her husband Alexis Ohanian has expressed how incredible his return was.

Williams not only struggled with physical ailments and mental demons that come to be h Ors play for so long. She also had to contend with the third Grand Slam of the year in the midst of a storm that threatened her rankings as one of the 32 best players on the chart.

Ranked 181st in the world after her long layoff – which was exacerbated by her Withdrawal from the France Open with a pectoral injury – there were doubts as to whether the Wimbledon organizers would give a seeding at Williams.

Players who are sown benefit from extra protection at the start of the round by facing lower ranked opponents. Upon entering Wimbledon, tennis officials faced the embarrassing prospect of the sport's biggest card facing another big name, which makes a true championship champion get eliminated prematurely. ranking list unless, in the opinion of the committee, a change is necessary to produce a balanced print run. "Changes are often made to account for injuries, so a player ranked in the top 32 may be ranked if he 's only But since Williams' pregnancy was" totally different from ". an injury, "said Wimbledon President Philip Brook, there was uncertainty as to whether she would benefit from such treatment. Fortunately, mental health has prevailed and the 36 – year – old athlete entered the tournament as the 25th seed.

But she laughed at that number, crushing her opponents as the first heads fell like flies in London. Nine of the top 10 seeded have had early starts but Williams has not missed a single beating, much to the chagrin of his rivals.

The victory over Goerges extended Williams' winning streak at Wimbledon to 20 games, dating back to the start of the 2015 edition. She has also won her last 15 Grand Slam games since the beginning of the year. Australian Open 2017, which she won while she was pregnant.

An eighth Wimbledon crown would certainly be Williams's most beloved, considering what she endured. The court will be even less among the last two standing competitors.

"It's been a crazy 10 months," Williams said. "I was still pregnant at this time last year – it's something I keep reminding myself of."

"Hear people say," Oh, that's a favorite "Like the last 16 months, I've played in four tournaments and I was wearing another human half this time.This is not frustrating, but it's like:" Come on, guys "It's really great."

Pretty awesome is right, and his legend will only grow with the win over the World No. 10 Kerber Saturday night.] But Williams is not obsessed with that that would mean to equal the all-time record of 24 major titles of the Court.After all, she had other things to worry about.

"To be perfectly honest I do not I did not think about that in this tournament, "Williams said." Not even once in fact. In fact, I probably forgot it.

"I think it's a good thing because, you know, I put myself so much pressure when I was trying to get to 18 (Grand Slam titles), so the remains "But as I have said the last two years, I do not want to limit myself. I think that's what I did in the past, I was limiting myself.

"It's just a number, I want to get as much as I can, starting with – I still have a match to win, so I'm not even here yet."

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