Serena Williams best overall tennis player ever
By Eddie Alinea
PhilBoxing.com
Mon, 19 Nov 2018
Federer and Williams.
For tennis legend Roger Federer, Serena Williams? achievements are enough to merit a place as the greatest tennis player of all time.
In an interview with the Wall Street Journal published recently, Federer, who along with Williams won a combined 43 grand slam single titles, expressed his admiration for Williams.
Of this total, Williams owns 39 grand slam titles including 23 in singles.
?Williams?s career has been fascinating to watch. She had a totally different upbringing ? I came up through Switzerland with the federation, she did it with her dad and her sister,? Federer noted in the interview.
?It?s an amazing story unto itself ? and then she became one of the greatest, if not the greatest tennis player of all time,? Federer added.
When asked what he meant by ?Williams is the best female player of all time or the best overall, Federer retorted emphatically: ?Overall.?
Federer, whose 20 grand slam singles titles are the most by any male player, continued the far from controversial point that his achievements rank with the greats. ?But we know Williams is all the way up there.?
I?m probably up there with somebody, somehow. Maybe there?s a group, a best of five ? and if you?re in that group, you should be pleased and happy. Tennis is a funky sport when it comes to that stuff,? he said
Federer, who is two months younger than Williams, said he is still enjoying a late-career resurgence with three grand slam titles since the start of 2017. He said he has not set a date for retirement and says he still enjoys playing.
?I?ve long given up that it needs to end in a fairy tale,? he said. ?I don?t need to be ranked [No 1] or need it to be after a big title. If it happens that way, that?s amazing. But you can?t control it all. You have to put yourself out there, be vulnerable. I play because I love tennis, not because it needs to end perfectly.?
Federer has four children and admits he tore a meniscus in 2016 while he was preparing a bath for his daughters: ?It?s absolutely funny. It?s crazy.?
His children have excellent tennis genes too: his wife, Mirka, was ranked No. 76 in the world. Federer says he is in no rush for them to follow his career path though.
?Yeah, they play a bit,? he said. ?It?s one of my mini-requirements with Mirka. Don?t get me wrong, I don?t want them to be professional players, but I would like them to play recreationally.?
The Women's Tennis Association ranked Williams world No. 1 in singles on eight separate occasions between 2002 and 2017. She reached the No. 1 ranking for the first time on July 8, 2002.
She was 26 September 1981 (age 37 years) in Saginaw, Michigan.
Williams has won the second-most singles titles (23) in women's Grand Slam tournaments of all time.
These famous quotes were attributed to her: I'm really exciting. I smile a lot, I win a lot, and I'm really sexy.? And, family's first, and that's what matters most.?
?We realize that our love goes deeper than the tennis game. Tennis just a game, family is forever,? she was also quoted as saying.
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Eddie Alinea.
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