Serena Williams has successfully clinched the 700th win of her legendary career after edging Germany's Sabine Lisicki 7-6 (4), 1-6, 6-3 to punch her way to the semifinals of the Miami Open. In the wake of adding another feather to her peacock-liked hat, the 33-year old Williams proved that she's simply an anomaly, a superstar that has taken women's tennis by storm without going through the junior ranks.
Williams, 18-time Grand Slam winner and current world's no.1 women's singles player, battled through shaky services, listless play in the second set, 51 unforced errors and a spot facing the sun but she still somehow and someway found her way to victory.
Gunning for 8th Miami Open title, Williams said she had to double up her effort just to get by Lisicki, who had a history of success against her in the past.
''I know today wasn't my best day,'' Williams said in an interview via Yahoo Sports. ''I just told myself, I'm not serving the way I normally serve and hitting the way I normally would hit, so at this point all I can do is just fight and try to give 200 percent instead of 100 percent.''
With her 700th win in the books, Serena has made a point again that one doesn't need to go through junior tennis to be successful in the sport. Williams, who made her debut as a 14-year old teenager in 1995 and won her first Grand Slam title four years after, credited her father for keeping her prepared for the pros without any junior year experience around her belt.
Still, Williams believed each player has her own story to tell, and considering how expensive the pros is, playing in the juniors where one can get sponsorship and prize money would be a smart idea in this era.
"It's a lot of factors," Serena said right after a win against world's no.1 juniors CiCi Bellis via Tennis.com. "My dad was a great coach and he's just such a great thinker. He just had this whole vision. So what I'm saying is if you don't play juniors, it's hard for people to see you and get sponsorship, and tennis can be expensive.
For some people I think it's smart to play juniors. People can see your level and you can have some help in terms of traveling and getting coaches and things of that nature. But fortunately enough, we were able to manage."