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Williams, playing in her first tournament since being forced
to retire from a Wimbledon doubles match because of a viral
infection, took the Stanford crown for a third time and won her
fourth title overall this season.
Her return to fitness has come at just the right time with the
US Open set to start on Aug 25.
"I have a lot of confidence going but every week is a new week
and hopefully I can just try to improve,” Williams, who also
took the title in 2011 and 2012, told reporters.
Her latest victory was far from easy as Williams had her service
broken twice in the opening set and fell behind 5-1. The
17-times grand slam champion rallied to tie the score and
eventually dominate the tiebreaker 7-1.
“I blinked my eye and I was down 1-5 and Angelique was playing
so well,” the 32-year-old said. “I tried to relax and just think
about making my shots.”
Williams claimed a 2-0 lead in the second set and held off her
German opponent the rest of the way. She fired six aces and did
not face a break point in the final set.
Kerber was looking for her first singles crown of the season but
instead lost her fourth final of 2014.
“I gave everything I could out there,” Kerber said. “When she
was down she started hitting the ball better. It’s a special
thing she has.”
(Writing by Jahmal Corner; Editing by Peter Rutherford)
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