Only half joking, Serena Williams said she was “just beginning” after drawing level with tennis legends Martina Navratilova and Chris Evert on the all-time grand slam leaderboard.
Williams’ crushing straight-sets final triumph over Caroline Wozniacki at Flushing Meadows on Sunday earned the world No.1 a record sixth US Open crown and an 18th career major.
The 6-3 6-3 victory elevated the American to equal fourth place behind Australia’s record holder Margaret Smith Court, who won 24 grand slam singles titles, Steffi Graf (22) and Helen Wills Moody (19).
“I just could never have imagined that I would be mentioned with Chris Evert or with Martina Navratilova because I was just a kid with a dream and a racquet,” Williams said.
“Living in Compton, you know, this never happened before.”
While no woman in 46 years of professional tennis has ever collected six US Open trophies before, Williams rated joining Navratilova and Evert even more special.
“There was so much on the line between getting to No.18, which has been on my shoulder for so long and I finally got it,” Williams said after romping through the Open draw without dropping a set.
“I never thought that me, Serena Williams, would be in that group. Who am I?
“I never thought you would mention my name with such greats and legends.”
But turning 33 this month, Williams says she’s not finished yet and few would back against her one day eclipsing Smith’s record haul.
“I’m already looking at maybe No.19,” she said.
That could well come in January at the Australian Open, where the world No.1 has already reigned five times.
“I want to continue to rise and continue to play really hard and do the best that I can,” Williams said.
“I’m just beginning.”
While she admits having children is also “pretty high on my list”, Williams and older sister Venus, a seven-times grand slam champion herself, have no plans to retire any time soon.
“Right now we just really want to be in there. We want to win matches. We want to win titles,” Serena said.
In addition to the grand slam spoils, Williams’s latest triumph earned the superstar the biggest cheque in tennis history – a whopping $US4 million ($A4.33 million), including a $US1 million bonus for also winning the US Open summer series.
Navratilova and Evert also presented the champion with an 18-carat gold Tiffany bracelet with “18” engraved after welcoming their compatriot into one of the most exclusive clubs in tennis.
“It’s a pleasure to win my first grand slam here and my 18th. I’m really emotional,” Williams said, fighting back tears.
“I couldn’t think of a better place to do it.”
After failing to progress beyond the last 16 at the season’s first three grand slam events in Melbourne, Paris and London, Williams was on a mission on Sunday.
So dominant was she that Wozniacki could only manage four winners – and three of those were aces.
The match was all over in 75 minutes as Williams also became the first woman since Evert, who won four straight titles from 1975-78, to complete an Open title hat-trick.
