Reigning Wimbledon champion Serena Williams scored a statement victory today.
The world No. 1 reeled off nine consecutive games closing crushing 7-5, 6-0 conquest of 13th-seeded Svetlana Kuznetsova to power into the Wimbledon quarterfinals.
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Afterward, the 21-time Grand Slam champion said her passion for the sport fuels her success.
"It's no secret, I'm a very intense player. I'm so passionate at my job, just like you guys are with writing," Williams told the media afterward. "I hope you are just as passionate. This is what I do, and I love what I do. I wake up since I was three years old to do this. These are the moments that I live for. The passion and the intensity that I have is what makes me Serena. I can't change, nor would I ever want to be different."
The top seed celebrated her 12th trip to the Wimbledon quarterfinals posting this reading of Rudyard Kipling poem "If" on Instagram.
The second stanza of the poem: "If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster / and treat those two impostors just the same" is posted on the wall of the player entrance to Centre Court.
Serena has taken those sentiments to heart.
Photo credit: Stephen White/Camera Sport