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It's far from elementary for Serena as she downs Watson

Serena Williams of the U.S.A. celebrates winning a game during her match against Heather Watson of Britain at the Wimbledon Tennis Championships in London, July 3, 2015. REUTERS/Suzanne Plunkett -

By Pritha Sarkar LONDON (Reuters) - There was no roar up to the skies, there was no whoop of delight and there was not even a smile on show -- the pained expression on Serena Williams' face said it all. She had just fashioned the greatest of great escapes at Wimbledon to keep alive her dreams of pulling off a "Serena Slam" -- but only just. At 7.19pm, the American stood two points from defeat as British lionheart Heather Watson produced a barnstorming performance to close in on a victory that threatened to send Wimbledon spinning off its axis. But Williams is not a 20-times grand slam champion for nothing. She is not the world number one for nothing. And she is not the holder of the U.S., Australian and French Open titles for nothing. The will to win at all costs gained from every one those victories helped her to crawl over the finishing line at 7.28pm on Friday -- a result that even Williams had no idea how she pulled off. "I honestly didn't think I was going to win. How I pulled through, I really don't know," said the 33-year-old, whose hopes of winning all four majors in a row looked doomed when she was broken twice in the final set to trail 3-0. But a woman who has built a career on overcoming every obstacle fate can throw at her -- be it a life-threatening blood clot or a childhood spent dodging bullets during practice sessions in Compton, California -- was determined not to give up her pursuit of a sixth Wimbledon title. "I was like, if I'm going to go lose, I'm going to lose trying to do the right things," added Williams, whose reward for breaking British hearts in a 6-2 4-6 7-5 victory was a fourth round date with big sister Venus. "I think this is a match I would have lost last year or the year before. But mentally I feel so much stronger. "The older I get, I think the tougher I get upstairs." That toughness allowed Williams to turn a deaf ear to the 15,000 fans who roared with every Watson winner, groaned with every Watson miss and stamped their feet as the 59th-ranked Brit edged towards a heart-pumping upset. "I never saw a crowd like that. They were really into it. It was really intense. They really wanted Heather... I've never seen them so vocal. I've never heard boos here, so that was new for me," said Williams. "They were really vocal, in between points, during points... But hey, I've been through it all." (Editing by Toby Davis)