Serena Williams outshines Maria Sharapova to capture the crown – French Open 2013
Top seed, Serena Williams, triumphed over the second seed, Maria Sharapova, in straight sets at the Roland Garros 2013 on Saturday.
She penned down a 6-4, 6-4 victory against the Russian star to capture her 16th Grand Slam title.
The American icon prevailed throughout the battle to overpower Sharapova in their 16th encounter. As a result, she not only improved to a 14-2 lifetime in the head-to-head against the Russian but also became the second women to capture all four Grand Slam
titles twice in the open era.
The American veteran commented in a post match presser, “First I'd like to thank my God, Jehovah. And congratulations to you, Maria - you played really, really well today, you were magificent and such a great champion.”
Williams made a slow start at the start and gifted away her opening serve to fall at 0-2. However, she went on a four-game killing spree and cruised to a 4-2 lead. The American squandered her edge again in the eighth game but stayed focused. She got the
breakthrough in the very next game and clinched the opener with a 6-4 score line in 51 minutes.
The world number one, Williams kept momentum rolling in the following set. She got the coveted break in the third game and leaped to a 3-1 lead. The American then held her remaining serves with poise and subsequently sealed the set by winning six games to
four.
Summing up the 31-year-old’s performance, Williams amazingly hammered 29 winners and committed only 21 unforced errors.
On the other hand, the Russian fired 10 winners but spilled 17 unforced errors which made the difference. The American clobbered a better first serve share of 69 per cent as compared to her rival’s 55 per cent and marked 27 out of 35 points on it.
Williams previously captured this prestigious title 11 years ago in 2002. With this triumph, she made another record, the biggest gap between winning the same Grand Slam title.
She said, “I always practice weeks and years in advance. And now I've had 11 years to practice it! Actually 11 years ago I didn't even think I'd still be playing. I never thought I would play past 28... But I'm still here. And this one was so good. It's
the only one I hadn't won more than one of. Now I have multiple titles at every major, singles and doubles, so I'm really pumped.”
The American star is now two Grand Slam titles less than Martina Navratilova and Chris Evert’s 18. With her current run of form, she is expected to break the record.
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