Serena Downs Jankovic to Capture Third Family Circle Cup Title

April 8, 2013 | By Long Island Tennis Magazine Staff
Serena_Williams_02_7
Photo credit: Kenneth B. Goldberg

Serena Williams rallied from a set down to beat Jelena Jankovic in the finals of the 2013 Family Circle Cup, winning her 49th WTA title and taking a step closer to yet another milestone, as only nine players have ever reached the 50 WTA titles mark. Serena had a slight 5-4 advantage over Jankovic, but within that was only one previous clay court meeting, and it was Jankovic who won that one, a 4-6, 6-3, 7-6(5)  in the semifinals of Rome three years ago. Jankovic toughed out some close games early on and eventually took the 45-minute first set, 6-3.

Serena went right to work from there, her strokes starting to hit all their spots and her movement getting sharper and sharper as she cruised through the next two sets and eventually ran away with a 3-6, 6-0, 6-2 victory.

"I was just trying to be more consistent," said Serena. "I felt so close in that first set. I felt like I could have been up 3-0. She was playing really, really well, but it was just a shot here, a shot there, and she played really well in the big points. And I had so many opportunities that I missed. She took advantage of all of that, and she went on to glory in that first set."

Serena now has won 71 of 75 matches since the start of last year’s clay court season, won her third Family Circle Cup title as she won the event in 2008 and 2012 as well. Serena now has 49 WTA titles. Only nine women have won 50 or more WTA titles, namely Martina Navratilova (167), Chris Evert (154), Steffi Graf (107), Margaret Court (92), Evonne Goolagong-Cawley (68), Billie Jean King (67), Lindsay Davenport (55), Virginia Wade (55) and Monica Seles (53).


Long Island Tennis Magazine Staff
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