Serena Williams is fit, focused and ready to win a record-equaling Grand Slam, her coach, Patrick Mouratoglou said.
In an interview with Reuters, Mouratoglou said the 37-year-old superstar is prepared to win her first major as a mom—and 24th career Grand Slam singles title—to equal Australian legend Margaret Court's all-time record.
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In her 2018 comeback, Williams contested two Grand Slam finals, bowing to Angelique Kerber in the Wimbledon final and falling to Naomi Osaka, 6-2, 6-4, in a controversial US Open final.
"First of all, last year she made an incredible effort to come back in shape after having a baby and actually she came back in a decent shape quite fast,” Mouratoglou told Reuters. "It was a big deal. She had a lot of medical issues after the delivery but she definitely was not 100 percent."
Mouratoglou believes Williams is poised to win her first Slam since she defeated older sister Venus to win the 2017 Australian Open championship.
"She reached two Grand Slam finals. She was fit," Mouratoglou said. "I am knowing her now for a few years so I knew she could be much fitter but it’s just a question of time. And I think she’s fitter now. You can see it, it’s quite obvious when you see her on the court, how she moves.
"I think she came back to a very, very high level of fitness. So she’s ready. She’s ready to compete and when Serena’s ready to compete, she’s ready to win."
Photo credit: Christopher Levy