Having her as a friend is great: Serena Williams on Meghan Markle

Serena Williams praised her friend, Duchess of Sussex Meghan Markle, who was present at Wimbledon to cheer for the tennis player.

The 37-year-old seven-time Wimbledon champion was beaten by Simona Halep, the first tennis star from Roma to capture the title.

Meghan, along with Kate Middleton and her sister Pippa were among the spectators who watched the match from the Royal Box at Centre Court, marking the first joint solo outing for the duchesses in a year.

"Just having her in general as a friend is great," Serena told reporters after the match. "She's such a great friend and a great person as well, and always positive, no matter what. So it's so good to have people like that just to know."

"She's such a fan of the sport and she too is happy for Simona," Serena continued.

"She saw that she played unbelievably and that's just the kind of person that she is."

Accomped by two of her friends, Meghan had also cheered for her friend Serena at the women's singles second round match against Slovakia's Kaja Juvan earlier this month. It marked the Duchess' first solo outing since giving birth to her and husband Prince Harry's first child, son Archie Harrison, who is now two months old.

( With inputs from ANI )