Wimbledon serves up chance for more Williams glory

Will there be a 'Serena Slam' or part three of a grand slam? That is one of the questions swirling around Wimbledon on the eve of the third grand slam event of the year. The women's top seed Serena Williams is at the All England Lawn Tennis Club on the cusp of holding all four major titles at the same time. 

Serena Williams won her third consecutive grand slam tournament at the 2015 French Open in Paris. Reuters/Jason Cairnduff Livepic

The 33-year-old American won the 2014 US Open, the 2015 Australian Open and the 2015 French Open. Adding a sixth Wimbledon title to the sequence would allow her to complete a feat she achieved more than a decade ago when she won the 2003 French Open, 2003 Wimbledon, 2003 US Open and the 2004 Australian Open.

Never one to be self-effacing, she coined the term 'Serena Slam'. While not as prestigious as the grand slam of all four majors in a calendar year, it is still some achievement.

Steffi Graf in 1988 was the last woman to claim that honour and Williams starts her quest for the 2015 Wimbledon trophy against the 20-year-old Russian qualifier Margarita Gasparyan. 

But in the brouhaha over slams, Williams will be experiencing some trepidation as she looks for her 21st major championship.

She's not made it past the quarter-finals in her last two visits to south-west London.

Fellow grand slam winners such as Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Maria Sharapova all hailed the queen of the circuit. 

Federer - winner of a record 17 grand slam titles on the men's circuit - said the greatest threat to Williams' chances of a calendar slam is looking ahead to the US Open in August.

"When she plays on her terms you would think that Wimbledon and the US Open would be the easier ones to win, especially with her serve. But that's exactly when you have a hiccup," he said.

The 33-year-old Swiss, who is hunting an unprecedented eighth title at Wimbledon, added: "So it's all about focus right now, sometimes just grinding through some matches. Once she gets to the final, she's always going to be the favourite."

The women's fourth seed Maria Sharapova concurred. "She's certainly the player to beat having won the last three majors. I think those results say everything."

Sharapova's opener is against the British wildcard Johanna Konta and the Russian is expected to cruise past the 24-year-old. If Sharapova and Williams are to meet, it will be in the semi-final. And the omens aren't good for Sharapova. She has played Williams 19 times over the past 11 years and has won two of their encounters. One of them was in the 2004 Wimbledon final when Sharapova was only 17.

She and Williams are known to have at best a cordial relationship. But there is respect. "I think it always comes down to consistency. It's one thing to do it at one or two events but to have that level to be able to do it consistently is pretty incredible."

Up until injuries started to gnaw at his psyche, Nadal was mesmerisingly consistent   nowhere moreso than at Roland Garros. Nine of his 14 major titles have come on the clay courts in western Paris. But he's claimed two on the lush lawns of Wimbledon essentially by transposing his power-based clay court game onto the grass.

"When Serena is playing well, it is very difficult to beat her," said Nadal. "She won in Roland Garros and that surface probably was the most difficult one for her. She has the right game to play well at Wimbledon. My feeling is she has much more power than the others. That's a big advantage in the women's game."

As for Williams herself, she says she is not succumbing to the hype. In the prelude to the championships, she and elder sister Venus practised on one of the three grass courts at the Florida home of golf legend Jack Nicklaus.

"I don't feel any pressure to win all four majors," said the Wimbledon top seed. "Maybe if I win here at Wimbledon, then maybe I might start feeling it after that. For me being mentally tough is probably my biggest strength."

She has seven matches to prove it.