"He has the right to do whatever he wants" - When Serena Williams was unfazed by the prospect of playing in front of Donald Trump at Wimbledon

23-time Grand Slam champion Serena Williams (L) and former US President Donald Trump.
23-time Grand Slam champion Serena Williams (L) and former US President Donald Trump.

Serena Williams once stated that she would not be bothered if the then-US President Donald Trump was present in person to watch her in action at the Wimbledon Championships.

In 2018, Trump was scheduled to visit the United Kingdom for a four-day visit, during which he was set to visit London, Windsor, and Scotland. Although there was no plan for him to be at Wimbledon, there was talk of that possibility owing to Trump being a tennis fan.

After her fourth-round win over Evgeniya Rodina, Williams was asked about her thoughts on playing at SW19 in front of Trump.

"I feel like he has the right to do whatever he wants to do. If he wants to come to a Wimbledon final, he has that right. I hope I'll be there. I still have a lot of matches to win. For me, I can't even think that far. I'm just thinking one at a time," she replied (via France24).

The 23-time Grand Slam champion's compatriot John Isner, on the other hand, stated that he would love to have Trump watch him compete at Wimbledon.

"Certainly. I'd love to have Trump come watch me. That would be awesome. Maybe I'll tweet at him if I win on Wednesday. I know a lot of people won't like that, but I don't care," he said.

Serena Williams' 2018 Wimbledon campaign ended with defeat to Angelique Kerber in the final

Serena Williams lost to Angelique Kerber in the 2018 Wimbledon final.
Serena Williams lost to Angelique Kerber in the 2018 Wimbledon final.

Serena Williams defeated the likes of Arantxa Rus, Viktoriya Tomova, Kristina Mladenovic, Evgeniya Rodina, Camila Giorgi, and Julia Gorges to reach the final of the 2018 Wimbledon Championships.

In the title match, Williams locked horns with Angelique Kerber, who broke the American's serve twice in a row in the first set and claimed it after just 32 minutes of play on Centre Court.

Kerber then denied Williams a comeback, taking a 5-2 lead in the second set before sealing a 6-3, 6-3 win to clinch her third career Grand Slam title. In doing so, she became the first German since Stefanie Graf in 1996 to lift the Venus Rosewater Dish.

Williams, who played in her first Major final since giving birth to daughter Olympia Ohanian, later expressed pride at being able to compete at the highest level after becoming a mother.

"It was a great opportunity for me. You know, I didn't know a couple of months ago where I was, where I would be, how I would do, how I would be able to come back. It was such a long way to see light at the end of the road kind of," she said after the defeat to Kerber.
"So I think these two weeks have really showed me that, 'Okay, I can compete.' Obviously I can compete for the long run in a Grand Slam. I can, you know, come out and be a contender to win Grand Slams," Williams added.

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Edited by Samya Majumdar
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