Serena not ready for final curtain

Serena Williams is closing in on her 35th birthday and has just suffered back-to-back Grand Slam final defeats for the first time, but the American superstar is not ready to be dethroned any time soon. Williams’s latest attempt to equal Steffi Graf ’s Open era record of 22 Grand Slam titles was dashed on Saturday by Garbine Muguruza in the French Open final.

Back in January, Angelique Kerber pulled off a similar shock to snatch the American’s Australian Open title while in New York last September; Williams’s hopes of a calendar Grand Slam were upended by Italian journeywoman Roberta Vinci in the semi-finals.

So Williams’s Grand Slam haul has stalled at 21, but she will still start as favourite to win a seventh Wimbledon when the third major of the year gets underway in three weeks.

“The only thing I can do is just keep trying,” said Williams, who was attempting to win a fourth French Open after 2002, 2013 and 2015.

“In Australia, Ann Kerber made 16 errors in three sets, you know, so what do you do in that situation? Today Garbine played unbelievable. It’s definitely something I want to dissect and see what I can learn from that and what can I do to get better from it.”

Williams has been down and out before and bounced back in style. In 2011, she underwent two foot surgeries and fought life-threatening blood clots on her lungs.