Casting sentiment and history aside, an inspired Simona Halep has crushed Serena Williams in straight sets to secure her maiden Wimbledon crown.
Halep shattered Williams’ latest quest for a record-equalling 24th grand slam singles title with a merciless 6-2 6-2 victory in Saturday’s unexpectedly one-sided final.
In adding tennis’s greatest prize to her 2018 French Open title, the 27-year-old is the first Romanian in history to reign at the All England Club.
And she added her name to the famous honours roll with a sublime display of grasscourt tennis.
Displaying no sign of anxiety or tension in her first Wimbledon final, Halep played lights out from the get-go, stunning Williams with a baseline barrage to charge ahead 4-0 inside 12 minutes.
The two service breaks were enough for Halep to clinch the first set, and there was no let-up in the second as the underdog sealed victory over her fellow former world No.1 in 56 minutes.
It’s the third time in 12 months that Williams has fallen a win short of matching Margaret Court’s benchmark tally of 24 slams, having lost the 2018 Wimbledon and US Open finals to Angelique Kerber and Naomi Osaka respectively.
Obsessed in her pursuit of Court’s record that has stood for 46 years, Williams had claimed to be entering this year’s final at peace with herself, totally relaxed and calm ahead of her latest date with destiny.
But it didn’t look the case as the hot favourite gifted Halep a service break in the opening game with three nervy unforced errors to set the tone for the match.
The Romanian then held to love and carved out another opportunity with some breathtaking ball-striking.
Finding the lines with some fearless groundstrokes, Halep claimed another break to storm to her 4-0 lead.
Williams received a rousing ovation from the equally shellshocked crowd after finally winning a game and then upped the ante in search of a way into the contest.
But Halep’s extraordinary speed and counter-punching under pressure delivered her the first set in 26 minutes.
With two more breaks in the second set, the match was all over in less than an hour.
