Serena Williams completed a clean sweep of her singles matches at the mixed teams Hopman Cup in Perth on January 3 as she prepares for her bid to make Grand Slam history at the Australian Open.
The winner of 23 Slam singles titles, Williams was made to work a little harder than expected by young Brit Katie Boulter in the United States’ final group tie, but prevailed in straight sets to make it three victories from as many outings.
However, the 37-year-old’s perfect singles record this week wasn’t enough to keep the USA in contention at what is expected to be the last Hopman Cup, where she has twice been a winner.
Williams and Frances Tiafoe were already eliminated after losing their opening two ties.
Watched by her daughter Alexis Olympia, Williams’ 6-1, 7-6 (7/2) win over the 97th-ranked Boulter followed victories over former top 10 player Belinda Bencic and Greece’s Maria Sakkari earlier in the week. Read more