Sport
Serena Williams beats Jelena Jankovic to win Family Circle
A victorious Serena Williams holding aloft the Family Circle trophy after beating Jelena Jankovic
Serena Williams defeated Jelena Jankovic 3-6, 6-0, 6-2 Sunday for her second consecutive Family Circle Cup title.
Williams won six straight games and 12 of the final 14.
“I don’t know what the turning point was,” Williams said. “I mean I think after that I just got really relaxed and I was like, ‘Honestly, Serena, you’ve got to kind of chill out and not get crazy.'”
Instead, the world’s No. 1 player displayed a brand of unstoppable tennis she’s shown often, and especially at this event. She became the first woman to capture three titles since the Family Circle moved from Hilton Head Island to Charleston in 2001.
“Definitely a really cool accomplishment, really cool, especially at this particular tournament that has been around for so long,” she said.
It looked for a while that Jankovic was on her way to accomplishing what no one had done in a complete match since Justine Henin in the 2003 finals — Williams withdrew twice because of injury in that span — and defeat Williams on the Family Circle’s green clay.
Jankovic broke Williams twice on the way to winning the first set, the only one Williams had lost this week.
