Serena Williams of the U.S. embraces her trophy after defeating Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark
Top-ranked athlete Serena Williams won her sixth US Open title recently. It was her 18th Grand Slam victory. She entered the tournament as the top seed. In the early rounds, Williams beat Taylor Townsend, Vania King, Varvara Lepchenko, and Kaia Kanepi in the first rounds. In the quarterfinals, Williams faced No. 11 Flavia Pennetta of Italy. Ekaterina Makarova wasn’t able to stop Williams on her quest toward an 18th Grand Slam title as the American beat her in two straight sets in the semifinals. Willams’ finals match was with her good friend Caroline Wozniacki. She beat the Danish star to win her sixth US Open title, her third in the last three years. Reuters

Serena Williams continued her winning streak at the WTA Finals, despite an injury-hit preparation and sexist remarks from a top sports official. The 18-time Grand Slam champion made it 16-consecutive wins at the season-finale championship by beating Ana Ivanovic 6-4, 6-4 and is now five wins behind the all-time record of 21-consecutive championships in the tournament by Martina Navratilova.

"I just found out last time that I was 15 matches and I was like, 'Oh boy, not another streak,'" Williams said according to the Associated Press. "So now I'm 16 and, gosh, here we go again."

Although the world no. 1 was pulled out of her previous tournaments in China due to a knee injury and illness, she showed no signs of preoccupation with her off-court issues during her match as she showed her incredible flexibility. Williams did a number of splits as she tried to chase down forehands.

The 33-year-old Williams started shaky during her opening service game, having to save two break points, but later settled and took a 4-1 lead. Ana Ivanovic got back on serve at 4-4 then she got a break opportunity to go 5-4 but missed a volley. In the final match of the opening set, Ivanovic fell behind 40-0 and dropped serve on double-fault while Williams served 12 aces.

"I felt the knee a little bit, but compared to what it was in Beijing, it just feels so much better," Williams said according to the Associated Press. "I was up 4-1 in the first set and cruising and she does what she does best. I felt my energy level got a little low and then I just tried to do everything I can to bring my energy level up to just to fight."

Serena Williams will next face Simona Halep on Wednesday after she managed to win against Eugene Bouchard, who committed 30 unforced errors. According to Bouchard, she didn't feel match sharp during the game and there was a lack of consistency but she remains positive on her upcoming matches.

RELATED STORIES