Serena Williams keeps focused in the face of history

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  • Power and the glory: Serena Williams is gunning for her sixth title at Wimbledon.

    It must be incredibly hard to avoid thinking about something the entire world is reminding you of every single moment. 

    But if Serena Williams plans on winning a fourth consecutive major this fortnight at Wimbledon, and edge closer to a rare calendar year Grand Slam, she must find a way to turn a blind eye to such glittery distractions.

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    Only three women in history have pulled off the Grand Slam – winning all four majors in a season – the last being Steffi Graf in 1988. 

    Williams is halfway there, having won the Australian Open and the French Open so far in 2015, and she’s also just one slam shy of completing a ‘Serena Slam’, which is winning four majors in a row but crossing over two seasons – a feat also so rare that only three women have done it (Williams, Martina Navratilova and Graf).

    “Take it one match at a time,” was Roger Federer’s advice to Williams. “The biggest mistake would be to think being in the finals of the US Open already. Although it’s totally possible. When she plays on her terms, especially now, you would think Wimbledon and the US Open would be the easier ones to win, especially with her serve.

    “But that’s exactly when you have a hiccup, you don’t do very well. So I think it’s all about focus right now… Give yourself the opportunity to be in the semis and in the finals.  

    “Once she gets there, she’s always going to be the favourite.”

    A five-time champion at the All England Club Williams has not fared well at Wimbledon the past two years, losing before the quarter-finals on both occasions.

    Despite her great success at the tournament, the American world No1 admits she is not a fan of the surface, despite having the game to perform well on it.

    World No3 Andy Murray believes Williams can achieve the Grand Slam but has warned her about the danger of taking things for granted on grass. 

    “It is a very, very tough surface to win on, especially over three sets. Because you play badly for 30 minutes and a match can be over,” said the Scot. “I believe she’s the best player in the world, and she can do it. But very easy to look ahead, I think, in these situations.”

    Williams is trying to follow that kind of advice and insists she’s not feeling the pressure.

    “It doesn’t make it feel any different, which I think is a good thing because I don’t feel any pressure to win all four. Maybe if I would happen to win here, then maybe I might start feeling it after that. Ultimately, I’m taking it one day at a time and I’m not thinking that far.

    Williams, who is targeting a 21st grand slam title, has not played a warm-up tournament heading into Wimbledon and spent some time instead in Florida, hitting on the grass courts at golfer Jack Nicklaus’ house with her sister Venus, a 
    potential fourth-round opponent.

    “It never has been my favourite surface, but I’ve always done really well here. I think my game is really suited for the grass,” said Williams of her paradoxical relationship with the turf. “Even when I was younger, it’s always just been different. It’s always been a really difficult surface. And it’s hard because if you don’t play a warm-up, it’s like the only tournament on grass, it’s kind of like you dive right in.”

    In her opening round today on Court 1, Williams takes on unheralded Russian qualifier Margarita Gasparyan – a 20-year-old ranked No113 in the world. 

    Playing just her second grand slam of her career, Gasparyan faces a near-mission impossible against the 33-year-old legend.

    “It definitely is not easy (for her). But it’s not easy for me either, when you go up against a player that you don’t really know,” said Williams.

    Fourth-seeded Maria Sharapova will also commence her assault on a second Wimbledon title today, albeit 11 years after she won her first one at SW19. 

    The Russian’s preparations were interrupted by the illness she had been struggling with during the French Open and it forced her to fly back home to California to take some tests and get the all-clear from her doctors.

    She faces the home crowd on Centre Court against Britain’s Johanna Konta, who made the Eastbourne quarter-finals last week.

    “We never played against each other before. That’s always tricky in the first round of a grand slam,” said Sharapova. “A British wild card. I saw a couple of her matches in Eastbourne. That was good to have a little bit of a look at her game, see how she plays.”

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