Serena Williams ends 9-month title drought at Italian Open
— -- ROME -- Serena Williams ended a nine-month title drought with a 7-6 (5), 6-3 win over Madison Keys in an all-American women's final at the Italian Open.
Williams' previous title came in Cincinnati in August -- a month before her attempt at a calendar-year Grand Slam ended with a semifinal loss to Roberta Vinci at the U.S. Open.
"It feels great," Williams said, pointing out that she's only played four tournaments since Cincinnati. "So it's not like I was playing every week. So that's kind of how I look at it. But it feels great to win a title, especially on clay."
For Williams, it was her fourth title in Rome and puts her in position to defend her title at Roland Garros.
"I'm feeling pretty fit. So I'm looking forward to it," said Williams, who won't have to answer any questions about a potential calendar-year Grand Slam in Paris this year. "I'm going to definitely go in there and feel more calm and (not) feel stress to have to win."
Williams addressed the crowd in Italian during the post-match ceremony then took a selfie as she posed with the trophy.
It was the first time two American women have met in a final on clay since Serena beat older sister Venus in the 2002 French Open.
When they met at the net after the match, Serena told the 24th-ranked Keys that she can be No. 1 one day.
"Too bad what she says doesn't just happen," the 21-year-old Keys said. "But it's always great to hear that from her. ... Hearing that is definitely something that makes me just work harder."
The previous all-American final in Rome was in 1970, when Billie Jean King beat Julie Heldman.
In the Rome record book, Serena drew level with Conchita Martinez and Gabriela Sabatini, who also took four titles at the Foro Italico. Chris Evert holds the women's record with five titles while Rafael Nadal holds the overall mark with seven.
It was the 70th title overall in Serena's career.
Keys was playing in the biggest final of her career. She posted personal best results at all four majors last year, including reaching the Australian Open semifinals and the Wimbledon quarterfinals.
