Wimbledon 2015: Can Serena Williams pull off a 'Serena Slam'?
The historic Wimbledon tennis tournament is well under way, with only 32 men and women left in the competition as of Monday morning.
But as of 2:30 p.m. British time, another competitor had exited the tournament. Sisters Serena and Venus Williams, two of the best-known female tennis players in the world, faced off in a match that would determine which one advanced to the quarterfinals.
Serena came out on top, taking the first set 6-4 and the second 6-3.
The sisters were amicable after the match, hugging each other over the net. The two have faced off a total of 26 times in their professional tennis careers and have each other more times then any other opponent.
Now Serena is left to pursue her Grand Slam dreams.
No tennis player since 1988聽has won all four majors (US Open, Wimbledon, Australian Open, and French Open) in a single year. But with the Australian and French Opens already under her belt, Serena has a fighting chance.
If she advances to the Wimbledon finals and wins, she鈥檒l be the champion of four consecutive Grand Slams, including last year鈥檚 US Open. This has also been called a 鈥楽erena Slam鈥� 鈥� four straight majors in 12-month period. She鈥檚 looking to secure her second such "Slam" with a Wimbledon win.
But Serena is up against fierce competition in the coming days. On Tuesday,聽she鈥檚 set to face two-time Australian Open champion Victoria Azarenka.
Currently seeded at No. 24 against No. 1 Serena, Ms. Azarenka is no small threat, even if the numbers suggest otherwise. The Belarusian-born player and former world No. 1, is only 25 years old but was recognized as a member of tennis鈥檚 in 2012 and 2013 after winning consecutive Australian Opens.
Her year has been riddled with multiple injuries, making it difficult for her to keep up with the major tournament schedule, but she鈥檚 done it.
鈥淗onestly, I鈥檝e never been more motivated in my life before as I am now,鈥� Azarenka told the in a January interview.
Azarenka is currently against Serena and she hasn鈥檛 defeated her in a match since 2013 and has had trouble regaining momentum after suffering a crushing loss to Serena in the .
But it鈥檚 unlikely that Azarenka will yield to Serena without a fight. The pair is for their tough matches, and Azarenka has lost in back-to-back sets only once in their last five meetings.
If Serena aims to win, she鈥檒l need to keep her focus and play her best game.
And, as a USA TODAY suggests, she should 鈥淎ct as if every opponent is Venus.鈥�
According to the article, Serena played with an almost 鈥渃linical鈥� style in her match against her sister on Monday. Gone was the grunting and screaming, and in its place was 鈥渆fficient, unapologetic tennis.鈥�
As Serena after beating her sister on Monday, 鈥淚 feel like my tournament is starting now.鈥澛�
