Simona Halep beats Serena Williams to win first Wimbledon title

Simona Halep has beaten Serena Williams to claim her first ever Wimbledon title.

The former world number one beat the American in straight sets, taking the first 6-2.

She served for the Championship, to make the second 6-2.

If Williams had won, it would have been her eighth Wimbledon title and her 24th Grand Slam.

Despite a strong start in the second set from Williams, the Romanian was able to overcome and won her first grass Grand Slam title.

Halep, 27, also denied Williams the opportunity to equal the record for most Grand Slam titles, currently held by Margaret Court.

The match took less than an hour, and is one of the shortest finals ever played.

Halep has recently spoken of enjoying playing on grass. Her only other Grand Slam title came from the French Open last year, played on clay.

She has not previously been a fan of grass, but found her game at this year’s Wimbledon. In the semi-finals she saw off Elina Svitolina, losing just four games.

The ladies’ final was attended by dozens of celebrities as well as Williams’ close friend, Meghan the Duchess of Sussex.

She sat alongside her sister-in-law Catherine the Duchess of Cambridge.

Also spotted in the stands were Jodie Whittaker, Aidan Turner, Lily James, Gill Brook and Theresa May, enjoying her last Wimbledon as prime minister.

For Williams, it is the second year in a row she has made it to the Wimbledon final and been beaten – losing to Angelique Kerber last year.

After the match, Williams said Halep “literally played out of her mind”.

She said: “It was a little bit ‘deer in the headlights’ for me. Whenever someone plays like that you just have to take your hat off and nod your head.”

Williams teamed up with former world number one Andy Murray to get more matches in the mixed doubles, but had not played as much in the run-up to the championship.

Halep was asked if she ever played a better match than that, and said: “Never.”

She said: “I came on court and gave my best.

“It’s something very special and I will never forget this day. It was my mum’s dream that I would play the final of Wimbledon – thanks to my parents.”

Paying tribute to her opponent, she said: “It was the best match and Serena always inspired us. I have worked a lot for this moment, it is hard to explain so I feel great.”

Speaking about her new love for grass, Halep said she did a lot of work to change her game to adapt for grass courts.

She said: “It was an amazing year, an amazing tournament, I can’t wait to come back.”

Halep said she hoped she would see the Duchess of Cambridge, and admitted she was “excited” to meet the royals after, having been unaware she would be greeted by the family after the match.

Catherine attended with her sister, for the second time this tournament, having visited on day one last week. For Meghan, it was her second trip too, as she attended another of Williams’ matches earlier in the tournament.

The pair laughed when they heard Halep express her shock that she would meet Catherine, a patron of the Lawn Tennis Association and the All England Lawn Tennis Club.

Before taking her seat on Centre Court, the Duchess of Cambridge met some of the junior players at this year’s event and also spoke to officials.

Halep made just three unforced errors throughout the match, while Williams racked up 26.

It is the third consecutive Grand Slam final Williams has lost with the record-equalling target on her mind. She lost to Naomi Osaka in the US Open last September.

She has not won a tournament since the 2017 Australian Open, when she was pregnant. She took a year off the tour after her daughter Olympia was born, and has dealt with injuries since her return.

Tennis great Billie Jean King tweeted: “Congratulations to @Simona_Halep on a tremendous win. One of the most perfectly executed matches I’ve ever seen. She’s Romania’s first-ever singles champion! Incredible tennis.”

(c) Sky News 2019: Simona Halep beats Serena Williams to win first Wimbledon title