Simona Halep said she had “never played better” after shattering Serena Williams’s latest bid to capture a record-equalling 24th Grand Slam on Saturday as she stormed to a sensational victory in a 56-minute Wimbledon final.
The 27-year-old recorded her second career major with a 6-2, 6-2 victory, adding a first-ever Wimbledon title to her 2018 Roland Garros triumph. “I never played a better match,” said Halep. “My mom said when I was 10 that if I want to do something in tennis I have to play in the final at Wimbledon.
“I had lots of nerves, my stomach wasn’t very well. I said at the start of the tournament that one of my motivation was to win and become a lifetime member of the club.”
Defeat for 37-year-old Williams, a seven-time Wimbledon champion who won the last of her 23 Slam titles at the 2017 Australian Open, meant her attempt to equal Margaret Court’s all-time record for major wins was put back on ice until at least the US Open.
Williams was undone by 26 unforced errors to Halep’s two in a personal horror show on Centre Court. “She played out of her mind,” said Williams. “I was like a deer in headlights.”
(With AFP Inputs)
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