NZ Herald
  • Home
  • Latest news
  • Herald NOW
  • Video
  • New Zealand
  • Sport
  • World
  • Business
  • Entertainment
  • Podcasts
  • Quizzes
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Viva
  • Weather

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • New Zealand
    • All New Zealand
    • Crime
    • Politics
    • Education
    • Open Justice
    • Scam Update
  • Herald NOW
  • On The Up
  • World
    • All World
    • Australia
    • Asia
    • UK
    • United States
    • Middle East
    • Europe
    • Pacific
  • Business
    • All Business
    • MarketsSharesCurrencyCommoditiesStock TakesCrypto
    • Markets with Madison
    • Media Insider
    • Business analysis
    • Personal financeKiwiSaverInterest ratesTaxInvestment
    • EconomyInflationGDPOfficial cash rateEmployment
    • Small business
    • Business reportsMood of the BoardroomProject AucklandSustainable business and financeCapital markets reportAgribusiness reportInfrastructure reportDynamic business
    • Deloitte Top 200 Awards
    • CompaniesAged CareAgribusinessAirlinesBanking and financeConstructionEnergyFreight and logisticsHealthcareManufacturingMedia and MarketingRetailTelecommunicationsTourism
  • Opinion
    • All Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Editorials
    • Business analysis
    • Premium opinion
    • Letters to the editor
  • Politics
  • Sport
    • All Sport
    • OlympicsParalympics
    • RugbySuper RugbyNPCAll BlacksBlack FernsRugby sevensSchool rugby
    • CricketBlack CapsWhite Ferns
    • Racing
    • NetballSilver Ferns
    • LeagueWarriorsNRL
    • FootballWellington PhoenixAuckland FCAll WhitesFootball FernsEnglish Premier League
    • GolfNZ Open
    • MotorsportFormula 1
    • Boxing
    • UFC
    • BasketballNBABreakersTall BlacksTall Ferns
    • Tennis
    • Cycling
    • Athletics
    • SailingAmerica's CupSailGP
    • Rowing
  • Lifestyle
    • All Lifestyle
    • Viva - Food, fashion & beauty
    • Society Insider
    • Royals
    • Sex & relationships
    • Food & drinkRecipesRecipe collectionsRestaurant reviewsRestaurant bookings
    • Health & wellbeing
    • Fashion & beauty
    • Pets & animals
    • The Selection - Shop the trendsShop fashionShop beautyShop entertainmentShop giftsShop home & living
    • Milford's Investing Place
  • Entertainment
    • All Entertainment
    • TV
    • MoviesMovie reviews
    • MusicMusic reviews
    • BooksBook reviews
    • Culture
    • ReviewsBook reviewsMovie reviewsMusic reviewsRestaurant reviews
  • Travel
    • All Travel
    • News
    • New ZealandNorthlandAucklandWellingtonCanterburyOtago / QueenstownNelson-TasmanBest NZ beaches
    • International travelAustraliaPacific IslandsEuropeUKUSAAfricaAsia
    • Rail holidays
    • Cruise holidays
    • Ski holidays
    • Luxury travel
    • Adventure travel
  • Kāhu Māori news
  • Environment
    • All Environment
    • Our Green Future
  • Talanoa Pacific news
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Property Insider
    • Interest rates tracker
    • Residential property listings
    • Commercial property listings
  • Health
  • Technology
    • All Technology
    • AI
    • Social media
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
    • Opinion
    • Audio & podcasts
  • Weather forecasts
    • All Weather forecasts
    • Kaitaia
    • Whangārei
    • Dargaville
    • Auckland
    • Thames
    • Tauranga
    • Hamilton
    • Whakatāne
    • Rotorua
    • Tokoroa
    • Te Kuiti
    • Taumaranui
    • Taupō
    • Gisborne
    • New Plymouth
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Dannevirke
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Levin
    • Paraparaumu
    • Masterton
    • Wellington
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Blenheim
    • Westport
    • Reefton
    • Kaikōura
    • Greymouth
    • Hokitika
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
    • Wānaka
    • Oamaru
    • Queenstown
    • Dunedin
    • Gore
    • Invercargill
  • Meet the journalists
  • Promotions & competitions
  • OneRoof property listings
  • Driven car news

Puzzles & Quizzes

  • Puzzles
    • All Puzzles
    • Sudoku
    • Code Cracker
    • Crosswords
    • Cryptic crossword
    • Wordsearch
  • Quizzes
    • All Quizzes
    • Morning quiz
    • Afternoon quiz
    • Sports quiz

Regions

  • Northland
    • All Northland
    • Far North
    • Kaitaia
    • Kerikeri
    • Kaikohe
    • Bay of Islands
    • Whangarei
    • Dargaville
    • Kaipara
    • Mangawhai
  • Auckland
  • Waikato
    • All Waikato
    • Hamilton
    • Coromandel & Hauraki
    • Matamata & Piako
    • Cambridge
    • Te Awamutu
    • Tokoroa & South Waikato
    • Taupō & Tūrangi
  • Bay of Plenty
    • All Bay of Plenty
    • Katikati
    • Tauranga
    • Mount Maunganui
    • Pāpāmoa
    • Te Puke
    • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua
  • Hawke's Bay
    • All Hawke's Bay
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Havelock North
    • Central Hawke's Bay
    • Wairoa
  • Taranaki
    • All Taranaki
    • Stratford
    • New Plymouth
    • Hāwera
  • Manawatū - Whanganui
    • All Manawatū - Whanganui
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Manawatū
    • Tararua
    • Horowhenua
  • Wellington
    • All Wellington
    • Kapiti
    • Wairarapa
    • Upper Hutt
    • Lower Hutt
  • Nelson & Tasman
    • All Nelson & Tasman
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Tasman
  • Marlborough
  • West Coast
  • Canterbury
    • All Canterbury
    • Kaikōura
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
  • Otago
    • All Otago
    • Oamaru
    • Dunedin
    • Balclutha
    • Alexandra
    • Queenstown
    • Wanaka
  • Southland
    • All Southland
    • Invercargill
    • Gore
    • Stewart Island
  • Gisborne

Media

  • Video
    • All Video
    • NZ news video
    • Herald NOW
    • Business news video
    • Politics news video
    • Sport video
    • World news video
    • Lifestyle video
    • Entertainment video
    • Travel video
    • Markets with Madison
    • Kea Kids news
  • Podcasts
    • All Podcasts
    • The Front Page
    • On the Tiles
    • Ask me Anything
    • The Little Things
  • Cartoons
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / Sport / Tennis

Tennis: Two ways to win women's final

By Ronald Atkin
24 Jun, 2007 05:00 PM4 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

Serena Williams at the pre-Wimbledon party in London last week.'I'm definitely the best player in the world if I'm playing well' Photo/ Reuters

Serena Williams at the pre-Wimbledon party in London last week.'I'm definitely the best player in the world if I'm playing well' Photo/ Reuters

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

KEY POINTS:

While Justine Henin and Amelie Mauresmo were battling it out by a breezy seaside in the Eastbourne final yesterday, the other two favourites for the Wimbledon women's title, Serena Williams and Maria Sharapova, were completing at leisure their preparations at the All England Club.

Whether it's better to
be getting serious matches under your skirt at this stage or to be taking it comparatively easy practising before the Big W's curtain rises tonight is debatable, but Serena is in no doubt. Let them charge about in Eastbourne if they want to, was her take, but leave me out.

"I've never played a warm-up tournament before Wimbledon," said the woman who won there in 2002 and again the following year, lost to Sharapova in the 2004 final and did not play last summer because of injury. "This is, I think, the best route for me. Anyway, it rains a lot in Eastbourne, I'm glad they're duking it out over there."

These days Serena does not play a lot anywhere, but still seems to represent as big a threat as anyone when the majors come around. Playing only 16 matches in an injury-plagued 2006 season nearly cost her a place in the top 100.

Marching into January's Australian Open short of practice and bearing a ranking of 81, she claimed her eighth - and most surprising - Grand Slam by destroying Sharapova in the final.

After winning her "home" event in Miami in March, the younger Williams deemed two clay events, in Charleston and Rome, sufficient preparation for the French Open, only to exit in the quarter-finals to the eventual champion Henin.

She calls her display that day "horrendous, outrageously absurd" and promised: "That's not gonna happen again. I'm not gonna go out without a fight. If I do go out, it's going to be with a punch, with a bang."

The top-seeded Henin, once more her prospective quarter-final opponent, is hereby warned. Though seeded seventh, Serena is the bookies' choice for Wimbledon at 3-1, just ahead of Henin at 10-3. Quite right, she said yesterday: "I believe I'm definitely the best player in the world if I'm playing well, it's hard for anyone to beat me. It's not even a belief, it's more of a fact. I think a lot of people understand that. I don't think anyone that has to play me goes home and shouts with joy.

"The best Serena always shows up for any event whenever I'm healthy. For me, it's always been about being healthy. I'm feeling pretty healthy now." While sharing Serena's opinion about the wisdom of giving Eastbourne a miss, Sharapova is not able to talk so positively about health on Wimbledon's eve because of the shoulder injury which has hampered her all this year.

"It's still not exactly where I want it to be. Some days are better than others, but in the last few weeks I've been able to play good and steady," she said. If Sharapova is to win Wimbledon again the chances are that she must remove both Williamses from her path, though any Serena clash would not come before the final.

She has lost twice to Serena this year, both times badly, but insisted: "I'm looking forward to the challenge of changing that."

Perhaps that is because her triumph at the age of 17 in 2004 means that Wimbledon remains special.

"It's amazing," she said. "I get goosebumps every time I drive through the village, whenever I see my name on the board, by the trophies. It's an incredible feeling, a bit surreal because I feel like it happened so long ago.

"When I do see my name it's a bit of a reality check, like, yes, that really did happen. Every year I get my member's badge, it's really special because I don't think about those things on a daily basis - wow, I'm a Wimbledon champion.

To see her name up there again, Sharapova reckons Serena will prove the main obstacle - "she's physically one of the strongest" - but praises Henin as "probably the most consistent player this year, as well as last".

And a winner at Eastbourne yesterday, too.

- INDEPENDENT

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Save

    Share this article

Latest from Tennis

Tennis

Alcaraz continues Wimbledon title defence

04 Jul 09:40 PM
Tennis

Wimbledon giant-killings continue but Alcaraz and Sabalenka advance

02 Jul 07:56 PM
Tennis

'Alone' Zverev considers therapy after shock Wimbledon exit

01 Jul 09:24 PM

There’s more to Hawai‘i than beaches and buffets – here’s how to see it differently

sponsored
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from Tennis

Alcaraz continues Wimbledon title defence

Alcaraz continues Wimbledon title defence

04 Jul 09:40 PM

The defending men's champion is on the charge, while the women's seeds are tumbling.

Wimbledon giant-killings continue but Alcaraz and Sabalenka advance

Wimbledon giant-killings continue but Alcaraz and Sabalenka advance

02 Jul 07:56 PM
'Alone' Zverev considers therapy after shock Wimbledon exit

'Alone' Zverev considers therapy after shock Wimbledon exit

01 Jul 09:24 PM
Alcaraz helps collapsed spectator in hottest-ever start to Wimbledon

Alcaraz helps collapsed spectator in hottest-ever start to Wimbledon

30 Jun 10:50 PM
From early mornings to easy living
sponsored

From early mornings to easy living

NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • NZ Herald e-editions
  • Daily puzzles & quizzes
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Subscribe to the NZ Herald newspaper
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP