Top ten most thrilling major tennis clashes in 2010 - Part I
The major tennis tournaments this season have had a great variety of exciting clashes. Lengthy rallies, late night drama and contender rivalries, all added to the tension in highly-entertaining matches.
Bettor. com takes a look at the top ten most exciting men and women Grand Slam matches in 2010.
10. Wimbledon, Round of Sixteen, Serena Williams versus Maria Sharapova
The American tennis player Serena Williams perhaps didn't have a smile on her face when she was granted her grass court Grand Slam draw. She had, off course, easy foes in the initial three rounds at the All England Club; however, the main challenger of her
draw was the Russian tennis star Maria Sharapova.
The Russian had defeated Williams just on a single occasion they fought on grass, and they were to contest on the same surface as they did the day when a 17-year-old rising star from Russia put a temporary cut on Serena’s dominance of the manicured lawns
of the All England Club.
Williams and Sharapova wore their sentiments on their sleeves during the whole clash, and every one could hear shouts of “comon on”, screams of joy, cries of agony and grunts of fatigue throughout. However, the noise was the proof of how much both of them
wanted to progress into the quarters at Wimbledon.
Both Williams and Maria fought hard in the opening set, however, the American won it in the end. Sharapova, as she has done on a couple of occasions in the past, did well to improve her game in the following set which was a different story all together.
Serena, as a result of winning the opening set broke the Russian early on in the second set at the All England Club. Sharapova’s fans all through the match backed her up, however, it was the then world number one Serena who won the next set along with the
match in the end. In spite of the fact that Williams triumphed in the clash, the excitement, tension and pressure throughout the battle made it all the more thrilling and one of the most exciting encounters this season.
9. Australian Open, title battle, Serena Williams versus Justine Henin
It was exactly the kind of battle the crowds wanted as two arch rivals in the game of tennis, Serena Williams and Justine Henin entered the courts in Melbourne for the title battle of the 2010 Australian Open. It was a dream final for the spectators, tennis
lovers as well as the organizers of the event without any measure of speculations. The bookmakers along with the experts rated the match to be a close one, as the two top tennis players were facing each other in a big event.
The Serena- Justine rivalry is as old as ancient times. As the match started, Williams without wasting any time smashed a slice serve out wide ace. The opening set despite being a close one concluded within no time with Serena winning at 6-4.
The following set was even until; Henin was pushed to the back of the court by Williams. Henin, however, bounced back with the help of not-so-perfect-drop shot to win the point. From there onwards, Henin looked more strong and confident, as Serena couldn’t
stop her until the decisive set. Henin grabbed the second set 6-3.
In the final set, the American was able to stop Justine’s streak, however, she was still at the brink of losing as her opponent was fighting relentlessly. Nonetheless, after the second serve ace, Henin lost her rhythm and William took charge of the match
to win it in the end.
The photographers afterwards took pictures of the 2010 Australian Open winner, Serena Williams in the presentation ceremony of the match.
It was a close call and Williams did well to grab her twelfth Grand Slam singles trophy.
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