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Serena
Williams won a record seventh Key Biscayne title Saturday when she
overcame a slow start and a set point to beat Li Na 7-5, 6-1 at the Sony
Open.
Williams surpassed the tournament record of six titles she
shared with Andre Agassi. But on a muggy spring afternoon, the No.
1-ranked Williams looked sluggish at the outset and served poorly, and
she was broken twice to fall behind 5-2.
"At that moment I felt like I had nothing to lose," Williams said. "I just was able to relax. Whenever I relax, I enjoy myself."
Li held a set point serving at 5-4, but Williams erased it with a backhand winner.
It's
a commentary on the yawning gap between Williams and the rest of the
women's tour that she won in straight sets against the No. 2-ranked
player while playing less than her best. She made only 44 percent of her
first serves and converted just five of 17 break-point chances.
Even so, Williams extended her winning streak against top-10 opponents to 15 matches.
Williams
lives 90 minutes up I-95 from Key Biscayne and considers it her home
event. She said the fans provided a boost when she fell behind.
"It
was like, `Oh my gosh, if I can just hang in here and just try to enjoy
myself," she said. "Honestly the crowd pulled me through. I heard some
fans go, `Go Serena."
Williams has played in the tournament 14
times and also won the title in 2002-04, 2007-08 and 2013. Her earlier
finals victories came against Maria Sharapova, Jelena Jankovic, Justine
Henin, Elena Dementieva and Jennifer Capriati twice.
She also lost finals to her sister Venus in 1999 and to Victoria Azarenka in 2009.
Li,
who won the Australian Open in January, was at the top of her game for
most of the first set. Even so, she couldn't close it out.
"Only one mistake: I think I should go party last night," Li said with a smile.
Williams
committed six unforced errors in the opening game, and it took her 16
minutes to win a game. She double-faulted to fall behind 5-2, and the
comeback came slowly from there.
The first set lasted 73 minutes, longer than many of Williams' matches.
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