WIMBLEDON, England — It wasn't one thing that Vera Zvonareva did wrong. It was that Serena Williams did everything right.
Williams measured her forehands and didn't try to make extravagant winners, just precise ones. Williams corralled her serve, placing it on the lines so much that Zvonareva tried several times to challenge via the electronic lines system, but usually Zvonareva didn't really have hope. She'd be standing on the other service line as if she just needed to see what she couldn't believe.
It took Williams only 63 minutes to win her fourth Wimbledon title 6-3, 6-2 on Saturday on Centre Court and her 13th career Grand Slam title to pass Billie Jean King in majors won.
Williams is far behind Margaret Smith Court (24 major titles) and Steffi Graf (22), but she's five away from tying Chris Evert and Martina Navratilova.
As she had throughout the tournament, Zvonareva, 25, buried her head in a towel during changeovers. The Russian has a history of being overcome by emotions and nerves, and she was never able to offer Williams a true challenge.
The final point was appropriate: a powerful overhead that was so certainly a winner, Williams threw her racket in the air before the ball bounced beyond Zvonareva's reach.
"To have four Wimbledons is really, really exciting," Williams said.
She had said early in the tournament her game wasn't sharp.
"I honestly didn't think I was playing my best," she said Saturday. "I felt like my strokes were off, especially in the first week. I'm just happy to have gotten through that."
Zvonareva never got a break point against Williams, who served 89 aces for the tournament, 59 more than anyone else. Williams had only nine aces Saturday, but her serve kept Zvonareva flat-footed and off-balance.
Williams got the first service break in the eighth game of the first set with a brilliant forehand passing shot after Zvonareva had struck a confident volley.
That point, which Zvonareva had played smartly, seemed to deflate the first-time Wimbledon finalist.
Zvonareva said Saturday's result — or the fact Williams didn't lose a set in the tournament — shouldn't mean players can't have hope.
"She's beatable," Zvonareva said. "She's not a machine. … You have to play your best. But if you do, you can do it."
King said Williams could become the greatest ever "if she keeps going."
"In the last two years, Serena has made a total commitment to breaking some records," King said. "She's loving the fact she's winning. … She could go quite a long time if she pays the price and stays fit."
dpucin@tribune.com