Maria Sharapova of Russia returns a shot to Serena Williams of the United States, during the women’s singles semifinal match at the All England Lawn Tennis Championships in Wimbledon, London, Thursday July 9, 2015. LONDON – Her game in high gear, history in the offing, Serena Williams is perfectly content to let everyone else talk about what a victory in the Wimbledon final would mean.
A “Serena Slam” of four consecutive major titles. The third leg of a calendar-year Grand Slam. A 21st major singles trophy, one short of the Open-era record.
For now, the No. 1-seeded Williams is keeping her thoughts to herself, declaring she won’t entertain questions about those topics, even after easily dismissing No. 4 Maria Sharapova 6-2, 6-4 in the semifinals at the All England Club on Thursday to close in on the milestones.
“I don’t want the pressure of that, and I’m not thinking of that. When you talk about it every time, you can’t help but think about it,” Williams said. “It’s been OK just to free my brain from that.”
Whatever works. Clearly, Williams is doing plenty right at the moment. Particularly against Sharapova, whom she’s beaten 17 times in a row.