Serena bags WTA Auckland title

Credit to Author: Tempo Desk| Date: Sun, 12 Jan 2020 10:45:58 +0000

WILLIAMS (AFP)

AUCKLAND, New Zealand (AFP) – Serena Williams ended a three-year title drought and raised expectations for the Australian Open when she overcame a sluggish start to beat outsider Jessica Pegula, 6-3, 6-4, at the WTA Auckland Classic yesterday.

The 38-year-old and tournament top seed, who will attempt to equal Margaret Court’s record of 24 Grand Slam titles in Melbourne this month, slipped 1-3 behind in the first set against the unseeded Pegula.

But once she found her range, there was never any doubt about the final result, which Williams greeted by raising her arms in triumph while her husband Alexis Ohanian and two-year-old daughter Olympia looked on.

It is Williams’ first title since 2017 – and her first as a mother – since she won the Australian Open while pregnant.

Her 73 WTA titles now stretch across four decades, after she won her first in 1999.

Pegula, who has only one title to her credit, had stunned former world No. 1 Caroline Wozniacki – a close friend of Williams – in a three-set semi-final, winning every game in the deciding set.

The 25-year-old continued in the sam
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