Serena Williams beats Maria Sharapova in straight sets to claim a sixth title in Melbourne .Williams’ serve is often described as the greatest in the history of the women’s game and tonight it propelled the 33-year-old American to her first Australian Open title for five years.
Williams
hit 18 aces, including 15 in a superb display of serving power in the second
set, as she beat Maria Sharapova 6-3, 7-6 in a memorable battle between the
world’s two best players. She
has now beaten Russia's Sharapova, the world number two, 16 times in a row
dating back to 2004.
"I have to
congratulate Maria, she played a wonderful match and she really pushed
me," said Williams.
"She played
so well and gave me a great final not only for the fans, but for women's
tennis. I'm really honoured to play her in the final."
Despite feeling so unwell during a rain delay in the first set that she left the court to vomit, Williams hit 18 aces and 38 winners as she won in one hour and 51 minutes.
Despite feeling so unwell during a rain delay in the first set that she left the court to vomit, Williams hit 18 aces and 38 winners as she won in one hour and 51 minutes.
Seemingly unsure
for a moment that an ace had sealed victory, she then shook hands with
Sharapova and bounded over to the corner of Rod Laver Arena towards her player
box.
By winning her
19th Grand Slam title Williams moved clear of Martina Navratilova, who
presented the trophy to the world No 1, and Chris Evert on the all-time list of
Open era champions. Margaret Court (24 titles) and Steffi Graf (22) are now the
only two players ahead of Williams.
“Standing here
with 19 championships is something I thought would never happen,” Williams said
at the presentation ceremony.
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