"The intensity she brought to that court, she felt like she owned it"- Zina Garrison on Serena Williams' 2002 Wimbledon triumph

In the latest episode of "The GOAT: Serena" podcast, hosts Chanda Rubin and Zina Garrison had a lengthy conversation about the unparalleled career of Serena Williams.

The former professionals reminisced about Williams' maiden triumph at Wimbledon in 2002, which was the first of her seven conquests at the All England Club, and gave her a third Grand Slam title.

Zina Garrison expressed her admiration for the "intensity" the then 20-year-old Williams brought to Wimbledon that year.

"The intensity she brought to that court; she felt like she owned it," Zina Garrison said. "She started to believe and I think it took over from there."

Chanda Rubin, meanwhile, opined that Williams derived confidence from her hard-fought run to the title at Roland Garros earlier that season. Rubin highlighted the fact that Venus Williams had dominated Wimbledon in the previous couple of years and that her younger sister seemed to take the "mantle" from her in 2002.

"The French Open in 2002, that was a tough tournament, but when she got through that it almost felt like she could do anything," Chanda Rubin remarked. "The next step seemed to be Wimbledon, which was going to be her tournament, even though she hadn't won it before. It was Venus who won the previous two years. But Serena stepped up and almost took the mantle and it wasn't given to her."

Chanda Rubin and Serena Williams at the JP Morgan Chase Open in 2002

Rubin went on to recall her own match against Serena Williams at Wimbledon in 2002, which she lost in straight sets. She admitted that she had no answers to Williams' powerful serve.

"In 2002 at Wimbledon it was the first time I played her," Chanda Rubin stated. "I didn't know what to expect playing her on grass and it was everything you could have expected in terms of her game and how dominant she can be. But it was her serve I remember probably more than anything else. It was a weapon and it almost felt like there were no answers to it."

Serena Williams' serve was the reason why she won the way she did: Zina Garrison

Serena Williams last made a Major final at the 2019 US Open

Zina Garrison then proceeded to talk about the dominance of Serena Williams' serve. She opined that the 40-year-old's serve played a significant role in each of her 23 Grand Slam triumphs. Garrison, however, feels that it was the serve that "hampered" Williams' chances in her previous four Major finals.

"She could be down 0-40 and she'd pop off three [aces] with no thought process behind it," Zina Garrison said. "Really looking back on her 23 Grand Slams she won, her serve was the reason why she won the way she won. And the ones that she hasn't won in these last couple of years, her serve has actually hampered her."