Billie Jean King’s ‘pet peeve’ is Wimbledon’s ‘horrible’ all white uniform policy
On Sunday, former Wimbledon champion and five-time champion Williams took to the Centre Court stage to deliver a talk in front of an audience of around 60,000.
Having taken to the court five times in her life, the American was hoping to close a trilogy with Roger Federer by retaining her Wimbledon title this year.
The first set of the match was raucous, with Williams getting the better of the exchange and the crowd, but she eventually succumbed to a blistering backhand from Federer.
But on Monday she became the first woman to take down the legendary Federer in a major final, which also made her the first American to win a major at the All England Club since Billie Jean King’s victory at the US Open in 1968.
“It’s the most important day of my life,” Williams told reporters after the match.
“It’s been a dream for a long time to come. A dream that I’ll never forget.
“In two months from now, I’ll have the whole world watching me, watching the whole event, and I can’t believe that happened.”
But it wasn’t plain sailing for Williams in her first encounter with Federer, in which she won in two sets.
Before that, Williams had been outplayed by her new rival during the quarterfinal on Friday.
The Briton suffered from a nervousness issue in that match, but she came out firing in the second set, as she made the first break of the evening and eventually beat the world No.1, 2-6, 7-6, 6-2.
But she was undone by the Swiss when she failed to maintain her advantage and Federer clinched victory in the tie-break.
The Briton, in her prime and having
