In 2002, Serena Williams won Wimbledon for the very first time, defeating her sister, Venus Williams, in the final to clinch the title on Centre Court.
Venus had won the previous two titles and was bidding to become the third woman in the Open Era to three-peat at the All England Club.
She couldn’t find an answer for Serena, however, who defeated her in straight sets to hoist the famous trophy, and as a result, became the world number one for the first time in her career.
After her triumph, Williams reflected on the final and gave a prediction about the effect her win would have on the rest of the WTA tour.
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Serena Williams’ reaction after winning Wimbledon in 2002
In her post-match press conference, Williams was asked: “Is this the fulfilment of sort of a lifetime ambition, winning here?”
She responded: “I can’t become satisfied because, you know, if I get satisfied, I’ll be like, Oh, I’ve won Wimbledon, I’ve won the US Open. Now, can I relax?
“But now people are really going to be fighting to beat me. So at the beginning of the year, I said, you know, I don’t care what happens this year, I want to win Wimbledon.
“And it was an extra bonus for me to win the French. Sure, I really wanted to win the French. I mean, I just couldn’t even believe I won.
“But I just wanted Wimbledon. I wanted to become a member of so much prestige, so much history. I want to be a part of history.”
Photo by Simon Bruty/Anychance/Getty Images
What Serena Williams told herself during the 2002 Wimbledon final
When asked if Venus having two Wimbledon titles gave her extra motivation in the final, Williams responded: “Yeah, it did.
“When I was able to win the first set, I think I got a little lackadaisical, I got a little too satisfied. I think I had a chance to break her.
“I was up 30-Love. And I just hit a couple ridiculous shots. Then I said to myself, you’re going to be telling your grandkids about this day, how you didn’t take your opportunity.
“So then that’s what I decided, I just needed to go ahead and take my opportunity.”
Williams went on to win six more crowns in South West London, the joint-second most in the Open Era, trailing only Martina Navratilova.
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