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Serena Williams Wins Sixth Australian Open

By Jake Fletcher

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Serena outslugs Sharapova for 19th Grand Slam title

World number 1, Serena Williams defeated world number 2, Maria Sharapova 63 76(5) to win her 19th Grand Slam singles title and her 6th Australian Open crown, as I predicted she would. The win moves her ahead of both Chris Evert and Martina Navratilova on the Open Era list of Grand Slam titlists, with 3 to go until she equals Steffi Graf at 22. On the all time list however, she’s joint 3rd alongside the great Helen Wills Moody, one of the most dominant players of the 1920’s/30’s.

Serena on the other hand looked eager to finish the points quickly…

1st Set: Serena Williams 63

Maria came into the match having lost 16 of their previous 18 encounters, including the last 15 stretching back to 2005! Early in the match, it was clear why as Maria repeatedly rushed her backhand, knowing all too well that a fast start was imperative. Serena on the other hand looked eager to finish the points quickly, to conserve energy and subdue the lingering cough which had plagued her all tournament. Despite losing her serve in the opening game, Maria looked to mix up the play, surprisingly executing the drop shot to good effect on a couple of occasions, leaving Serena breathless. Just as the match was beginning to hot up with the two going at it hammer and tongs from the baseline at 2-3 30-30, the rains came. The delay was brief and the roof was closed, but on resumption Maria’s chances were washed away. Serena opened with an ace, her first of 6 straight points in assuming a 5-2 lead. It was here that 2 uncharacteristic double faults contributed to Serena losing her serve for the only time in the match, but it merely delayed the inevitable as Serena’s perfect conversion ratio on break points continued as she broke serve to love.

2nd Set: Serena Williams 76(5)

Serena opened the 2nd set with a quick hold, the breathlessness from the first set now a thing of the past. Sharapova continued to snatch at the ball and faced 2 break points in the 2nd game. It was here that Maria’s fighting spirit surfaced as she came up with some fine serves to eventually hold. This was when the match really caught fire, their verbal blasts of ‘Come On’ matching their groundstrokes as both looked to intimidate the other. Maria started to take bigger risks, particularly with her backhand down the line and twice had Serena at 0-30 on her serve. However, as always, Serena called on her saving grace, the ace to help her out of trouble. Time and time again, Serena thundered aces past a bemused Maria, who could only hedge her bets one way or the other, often with little success. The crowds excitement and the on court tension was such that Serena was docked a point for hindrance, having already screamed ‘Come On’ on what looked sure to be an ace. In fact, not only did Maria get a racket to it, but got it back over the net! Back to deuce, but an eventual hold for Williams at 5-4. Playing catch up was getting tougher for Maria, especially when she faced championship point serving at 4-5 30-40.

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It was here that she remembered the second round in saving 2 match points to beat Alexandra Panova and came up with a huge forehand winner. The two held through to the tiebreak, where Serena hit some huge returns to race out to a 4-1 lead. Believe it or not though, Serena is human and after a couple of steered errors, appeared to be getting nervous. Still, her lead was such that a 2nd match point wasn’t too far away at 6-4. Once again, staring down the barrel, Maria showed the courage of a lioness. She hit a killer second serve which Serena could only just return mid court, setting Maria up for yet another forehand winner. So, Maria had done all she could. Serena stepped up to the line. Ace! No, not quite. The ball had clipped the net. Serena had already dropped her racket in celebration, but would be forced to take the serve again. It didn’t matter. Ace number 18 sealed the match. Serena jokingly asked the umpire “was that a let?” before giving Maria a respectful handshake.

Summary:

In the end, Serena defended brilliantly and did what she does best by serving her way out of trouble. She hit 18 aces and lost very few points behind her first serve. How do you beat that? Maria’s fight was commendable and she did make in roads into Serena’s service games by attacking the second serve. By her standards, she served great, hitting only 4 doubles faults and 5 aces. It might seem strange that Maria hasn’t beaten Serena in a decade, whilst Serena is vulnerable against others, for instance Alize Cornet who beat her 3 times last year. However, Serena always plays her best against Maria because she has to. Serena respects Maria and all she’s achieved and for that, raises her level to new unattainable heights which for now, Maria Sharapova can only longingly look on at.

Next: WTA Tennis Power Rankings

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