American tennis icon Serena Williams once said she was acombination of pretty and tough.Williams’ comments came during the 2014 Miami Open, where shesuccessfully defended her title by notching up wins over YaroslavVaShvedova, Caroline Garcia, CoCo Vandeweghe, Angeliqjue Kerber,Maria Sharapova and Li Na. It was her record-extending seventh title atthe WTA 1000 tournament.After beating Vandeweghe in the fourth round, Williams attended apress conference where she was asked if she considereed herself morepretty or tough. The 23-time Grand Slam champion believed she couldembody both qualities simultaneously, sending a powerful message toall women.”Oh, gosh. I never thought about that, but I definitely am a toughgirl. I definitely go out there and be as tough as I can on every onRethat I play,” Williams said.

“Yeah, absolutely. I think it’s really important for females to realizethat you can be strong but still be sexy at the same time. There isnothing wrong with being strong and beating up on the boy15(smiling),” she added.

Serena Williams holds the record for most Miami Open title winsSerena Williams pictured with her last Miami Open trophy in 2015

Serena Williams is the only tennis player in history, male or female, whohas won the Miami Open a whopping eight times. She also holds therecord for most consecutive title wins at the WTA 1000 tournamentWilliams won the tournament in a row between 2002 to 2004Shedefeated Jennifer Capriati to get her hands on the trophy forthe firsttime. She bettered Capriati again a year later and ElenaDementieva in2004 to cement her dominance.In 2005, Williams couldn’t defend her title, losing to her sisterVenus inthe quarterfinals. She withdrew from the tournament the following yeardue to a knee injury and lack of fitness.Serena Williams made a strong comeback in 2007, entering thetournament as the No. 13 seed. She defeated AnastasiaRodionova,Lucie Safarova, Maria Sharapova, Nicole Vaidisova, Shalhar Pe’er, andJustine Henin to secure her third Miami Open title before successfullydefending her title the following year.

The 23-time Grand Slam champion was unstoppable from 2013 to 2015,winning the tournament in a row again by defeating Maria Shoarapova,Li Na, and Carla Suarez Navarro in succession.Apart from Williams, Andre Agassi and Novak Djokovic shine assixtime winners of the Miami Open. Agassi clinched the title in 1990,1995,1996, 2001, 2002, and 2003, while Djokovic triumphed in 20007, 2011, 20122014, 2015, and 2016.