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“Keep Dreaming Big”: Varvara Lepchenko Credits Serena Williams Behind Winning First WTA 125 Title

Published 08/02/2021, 6:00 AM EDT

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American star Serena Williams has been on Tour for over two decades. During this course of time, she has achieved numerous honors and still continues to do so. Over the years, she has been an inspiration to many youngsters and also respected by her colleagues on Tour.

Recently, Varvara Lepchenko won her first WTA 125 title. After winning, she credits her recent success to Serena Williams. She was going through a rough phase in her life. Soon after, the American legend came in and helped her and invited her to practice. 

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The recently crowned champion stated, “Serena invited me to practice with her and we started hitting. She gave me some confidence, I would say. She’s a great friend and she encouraged me to keep going. Just seeing that I could hit with her and seeing her play on the big stages when she’s older than me – that inspired me as well, to keep going and keep dreaming big.”

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Serena Williams inspiring one and all

It was a great gesture by Williams. After inviting the 35-year-old player to play, she spoke to her about various topics and gave her the necessary motivation, putting her in a positive frame of mind. On the other hand, Lepchenko was encouraged to see Serena play so well on the biggest of stages. 

In the past, Djokovic has also stated that he’s been inspired by Serena and that she influences both men and women. He stated, “She’s such an amazing champion that inspires both male and female athletes around the world. But I think when you see a larger picture for her and everything that who she is, what she stands for on and off the court… she’s one of the greatest ever… athletes, not just tennis player.”

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Coming on to Serena, she was last seen at the Wimbledon Championships. Sadly, she was forced to withdraw from her opening round match as she twisted her ankle during the first set of the match.

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However, one hopes to see her on the courts of the US Open and fight for her much-awaited 24th Grand Slam title. We wish her all the best.

Watch this story: How Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic, Serena Williams, and Others Travel

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Written by:

Rohan Kollare

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Rohan Kollare is a tennis author for EssentiallySports. Rohan has a post-graduate diploma in Sports Management and a trophy cabinet adorned with accolades won in district and state-level tennis competitions. He has previously worked in Content Operations for Disney’s Hotstar for over a year, covering tennis and Formula One.
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