ZHUHAI, China: Tennis legend Steffi Graf said Sunday that Serena Williams can “absolutely” break Margaret Court’s Grand Slam singles title record if she returns to tennis.
Former world number one Serena Williams, who gave birth earlier this year, has already overtaken Graf with 23 Grand Slam wins but is yet to surpass Court, who boasts 24 major titles.
“Absolutely, yes,” Graf said when asked if the record was within Williams’ reach.
Court is renowned as the most successful player in Grand Slam history — the only player to win 10 or more titles of a single Slam — lifting the Australian Open a staggering 11 times between 1960 and 1973.
Graf, who also has 22 Grand Slam singles titles under her belt and is famed for having spent 377 weeks ranked world number one, was speaking in Zhuhai, China, where she is ambassador for the WTA Elite Trophy tournament.
“A lot of it is determined on her drive and if that’s what she wants to do,” she said of Williams.
Australian Open organizers said in October they were hopeful of a stunning return by Williams in January as they raised the winners’ prize money to a bumper A$4 million.
Williams won this year’s Australian Open while pregnant, and she has spoken of her “outrageous” plans to play in Melbourne in 2018 — just four-and-a-half months after giving birth to her baby girl.
“It sounds from what I hear that she’s looking to come back to tennis,” Graf added.
“You know, everything that she has shown over her career just makes you believe that if she has that in her sights then she will go after it and achieve it.”
The $2 million Elite Trophy features 12 players ranked from around nine to 20.
This week saw US Open winner Sloane Stephens crash out of the tournament in the round robin stage after losing her first match to Latvian Anastasija Sevastova and retiring from her second to Czech Barbora Strycova after just five games.
America’s CoCo. Vandeweghe is set to face Germany’s Julia Goerges in the final on Sunday.
Serena Williams can ‘absolutely’ break Court’s Grand Slam record, says tennis legend Graf
Serena Williams can ‘absolutely’ break Court’s Grand Slam record, says tennis legend Graf
Stokes calls on England to ‘show a bit of dog’ in must-win Adelaide Test
ADELAIDE: Ben Stokes has called on England to “show a bit of dog” in the must-win third Ashes Test against Australia on Wednesday after “raw” conversations following heavy defeats in Perth and Brisbane.
The tourists have crashed to consecutive eight-wicket losses and must snap a 17-match winless streak in Australia at Adelaide Oval to keep the five-match series alive.
They have made just one change with Josh Tongue replacing fellow quick Gus Atkinson, while off-spinning allrounder Will Jacks kept his place ahead of Shoaib Bashir.
England skipper Stokes said after the Gabba defeat that Australia was “no place for weak men” and admitted to “raw” dressing room conversations in the aftermath.
“We don’t do getting into rooms and have big things up on the screen. We have proper, meaningful conversations. What’s been said has been said,” he told English media.
“I’ve done all the talking over the last two days that I needed to. All that stuff’s done now, so it’s about what gets seen out on the field in Adelaide this week.”
Stokes was called “the most competitive person I’ve ever come across” by former England captain Alastair Cook last week and the 34-year-old allrounder demanded more fight from his team.
“It’s just about trying to fight in every situation that you find yourself in, understanding the situation and what you feel is required for your team,” said Stokes.
“Just look at your opposition every single time and show a bit of dog. That’s fight to me. You’re giving yourself the best possible chance if you’ve got a bit of dog in you.”
He cited England’s battling third Test win against India at Lord’s in July as an example of the grit he wanted to see in Adelaide, with the hosts winning by 22 runs deep into day five after a time-wasting row.
“That’s exactly what I’m on about,” he said.
“We were probably in a situation where we would have to be absolutely perfect to win that game and we were.
“The attitude and the mentality toward that specific situation is what gave us the best chance of winning that game.”
Since arriving in Australia, England have been under intense media scrutiny and faced hostile crowds at Perth and Brisbane.
Just five of the players used so far had previously played an Ashes series in Australia and Stokes acknowledged it had been confronting for the newcomers.
“Honestly, I think so,” he said. “Now I feel everyone has experienced that and probably at its highest level, so we all know what it’s going to be like.
“So for the next three games there isn’t going to be any of that ‘I didn’t expect this’ or ‘it’s the first time I’ve had this’.”
