Serena Williams is just coming off her 22nd Grand Slam title with her win at Wimbledon over Angelique Kerber. That 22nd major title put her tied for most in the Open Era with Steffi Graf and tied second-most all-time behind Margaret Court. Forever Serena is known as the queen of coming through under pressure, however, when the pressure rose to their peaks when she was trying to equal Martina Navratilova and Chris Evert followed by Steffi Graf, she crumbled the first three times.

The saying goes, “Third time’s the charm”, but for Serena, it was fourth time’s the charm in both cases. After leveling both Martina and Chrissie, the world number one went on a tear that many of us in our generation have not seen before. She went on to complete her second Serena Slam before falling in the US Open semifinal.

Her runs to 18 and 22 are very similar, and once she reached those goals, she was off to the races so don’t be surprised if she reels off a number of majors and ends the debate on who is the greatest of all-time.

The Struggle For Number 18

After winning the two Grand Slams in 2013 (French Open, US Open), many were waiting for Serena to tie two tennis greats in Chris Evert and Martina Navratilova. After winning her opening tournament in Brisbane, Serena was the heavy favorite as the top seed coming into the 2014 Australian Open.

She rolled through her first three matches before meeting Ana Ivanovic. This was their first meeting since 2012, and the Serb had never taken a set off Serena or even won more than four games. Despite that, tightness from the world number one and some spectacular hitting from the Serbian earned her first-ever win over the American and the wait for the elusive 18th title was on.

The clay court season was a mixed bag of results for Serena. She lost to Jana Cepelova early in Charleston and then withdrew in Madrid after making the quarterfinal before winning the title in Rome.

With one clay court title before the French Open under her belt, the American was once again the favorite. After a quick beatdown of Frenchwoman Alize Lim, we saw a glimpse of the future of women’s tennis when Garbine Muguruza stunned her, holding Serena to four games. That opened up the door for Maria Sharapova to win a second French Open title.

As per usual, Serena did not warmup heading into Wimbledon and with her power, especially her serve, she was a sure favorite to win. The script was the same as the first two majors, rolling through her first couple of rounds before another upset loomed, this time via Alize Cornet.

Alize Cornet of France celebrates after winning her Ladies' Singles third round match against Serena Williams of the United States on day six of the Wimbledon Lawn Tennis Championships at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club at Wimbledon on June 28, 2014 in London, England. (Photo by Steve Bardens/Getty Images)
Alize Cornet of France celebrates after winning her Ladies' Singles third round match against Serena Williams of the United States on day six of the Wimbledon Lawn Tennis Championships at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club at Wimbledon on June 28, 2014 in London, England. (Photo by Steve Bardens/Getty Images)

Once the hard court season rolled around, it was one-way traffic for Serena. Two titles and one semifinal, which she lost to big sister Venus, was no problem. She finally had the results she wanted, headed into her a fourth try at leveling Martina and Chrissie, but this one was on her home turf.

Her results were the same in the early stages, but she’d continue to exert her dominance all the way to the end, defeating Caroline Wozniacki for the title. She did not drop a set en route to the title, and the pressure was lifted for finally tying two tennis greats.

​ Serena Williams of the United States celebrates with the trophy after defeating Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark to win their women's singles final match on Day fourteen of the 2014 US Open at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center on September 7, 2014 in the Flushing neighborhood of the Queens borough of New York City. Williams defeated Wozniacki in two sets by a score of 6-3, 6-3. (Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images)Serena Williams of the United States celebrates with the trophy after defeating Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark to win their women's singles final match on Day fourteen of the 2014 US Open at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center on September 7, 2014 in the Flushing neighborhood of the Queens borough of New York City. Williams defeated Wozniacki in two sets by a score of 6-3, 6-3. (Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images) Click and drag to move ​
Serena Williams of the United States celebrates with the trophy after defeating Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark to win their women's singles final match on Day fourteen of the 2014 US Open at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center on September 7, 2014 in the Flushing neighborhood of the Queens borough of New York City. Williams defeated Wozniacki in two sets by a score of 6-3, 6-3. (Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images)Serena Williams of the United States celebrates with the trophy after defeating Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark to win their women's singles final match on Day fourteen of the 2014 US Open at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center on September 7, 2014 in the Flushing neighborhood of the Queens borough of New York City. Williams defeated Wozniacki in two sets by a score of 6-3, 6-3. (Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images) Click and drag to move

The Struggle for 22

We all knew what happened after the 18th Grand Slam. It became one after the other, reeling off 19-21 like it was no problem whatsoever. Once it came to 22 though, the battle was on. It started at the US Open, where she tried to complete the Grand Slam, winning all four majors in a year.

This was unlike her trying to tie 18 as she went on deep runs in all of the Grand Slams but the pressure of tying these numbers, clearly carried more of a burden on her than she stated publicly. After storming through a quick first set against Roberta Vinci in the 2015 US Open semifinal. A set up and the world number one started tightening up, unable to deal with the change of pace that Vinci offered as the Italian won in three sets.

The then 21-time Grand Slam took the rest of the season off before heading to Australia to play the Hopman Cup and the Australian Open. After some Hopman Cup struggles, she tore through the Australian Open draw, ready to tie Steffi Graf after Angelique Kerber found herself in the final.

Kerber defeated Victoria Azarenka, second favorite to win the title earlier in the tournament, which left the German, a first-time Grand Slam finalist battling for the title against a 21-time Grand Slam winner.

After dropping the first set, many expected Serena to turn it around and win the next two. It was half true, winning the second set before tightening up as Kerber won the third to win her maiden Grand Slam title.

Angelique Kerber of Germany poses with the Daphne Akhurst Trophy after winning the Women's Singles Final against Serena Williams of the United States during day 13 of the 2016 Australian Open at Melbourne Park on January 30, 2016 in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Michael Dodge/Getty Images)
Angelique Kerber of Germany poses with the Daphne Akhurst Trophy after winning the Women's Singles Final against Serena Williams of the United States during day 13 of the 2016 Australian Open at Melbourne Park on January 30, 2016 in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Michael Dodge/Getty Images)

Things continued not to go the American’s way this year, losing the final in Indian Wells and then in the fourth round in Miami. She did not play in Stuttgart or Madrid, two warmups before the French Open. She did play in Rome though.

A month off from tennis did wonders for her as she went to Rome and won her first title. Surely, now she could tie 22 right? Wrong. No wrinkles throughout her road to the final barring a tight tiebreak against Kristina Mladenovic and dropping a set to Yulia Putintseva, but once again, the wrinkle came in the final. That young lady we met a couple years ago in the second round of the French Open, well she was back for a second Grand Slam final showdown against Serena (2015 Wimbledon). This time, the Spaniard tasted the glory, winning her first Grand Slam title.

Garbine Muguruza of Spain celebrates victory during the Ladies Singles final match against Serena Williams of the United States on day fourteen of the 2016 French Open at Roland Garros on June 4, 2016 in Paris, France. (Photo Mehdi Taamallah/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
Garbine Muguruza of Spain celebrates victory during the Ladies Singles final match against Serena Williams of the United States on day fourteen of the 2016 French Open at Roland Garros on June 4, 2016 in Paris, France. (Photo Mehdi Taamallah/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

Not too oft we see Serena lose to maiden Grand Slam finalists, heck, she only has six, yes six, career Grand Slam finals losses in singles. Just like 18, it was fourth time’s the charm whilst she was trying to win her 22nd. Just like the US Open, it came at a hallowed ground where the American had dominated for so long. Unlike that 2014 US Open though, Serena faced some trouble, this one coming in the second round against Christina McHale.

The younger American took a set off Serena before the world number one won the match. That was the turning point for this year’s Wimbledon for the world number one as she played free, loose tennis to win that coveted 22nd Grand Slam title.

Why Serena Will Reel Off Many More Accolades

Serena is never one to talk about pressure or these special numbers that the media always hypes up. She’s not one to admit the pressure is the reason she lost, giving credit where credit is due. Though she never admitted it, those numbers of 18 and 22 to tie three all-time greats weighed her down more than she made it seem to be. Serena hates to lose and she loves to win. She hates losing more than she loves winning though. After seeing three failures to tie 18 and 22, she finally broke through.

Now that she’s tied the mark, expect to see the same Serena we saw in 2015. Last year, we saw Serena just dominate the field. She played the trademark tennis that we’re used to seeing, free, loose, powerful tennis. She’ll deliver the ace when she needs to, winning those key points in pressure moments. Now that 22 is gone and with only two titles under her belt this year, it should be no surprise to marvel at the potential sight of a gold medal, number 23 at the US Open, and even more to come next year.

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About the author
Noel John Alberto
Filipino-American sports journalist from Toms River, NJ. UMBC Graduate and aspiring physical therapist. Tennis editor and multi-sport coordinator for VAVEL USA. Writer for Manchester United, Real Madrid, and Serie A sections of VAVEL UK. Sports aficionado. Host of the On The Line tennis podcast.