American Serena Williams has won the women's Australian Open in style. She beat Russian Maria Sharapova in straight sets 6-1, 6-2. The unseeded American whipped Sharapova off the courts in little over an hour. Williams also took home the Melbourne-crown in 2003 and 2005.
Williams, who was sidelined most of 2006 due to injuries and other activities, showed in the finale that was she back to her old self. The WTA Tour's 81st-ranked player made 28 winners versus just 11 unforced errors.
Sharapova never got in her game. The top seed had trouble serving. She only hit 51% of her 1st serves. From there, Williams' tactics of attacking Sharapova's second serve paid off.
Williams' battle plan resulted in a one-sided first set. She won the first set easily, 6-1. In the second set, Sharapova was still unable to turn the table. She was unable to cope with her adversary's powerful hits and was soon looking how her opponent took a 4-0 lead.
Williams, who never lost her serve throughout the match, did give her opponent 2 games. At 5-2, Williams served for the match and made no mistakes.
Despite the heavy defeat, Sharapova will take over the No. 1 spot while Williams goes up from No. 81 to No. 14 on the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour.
Written by Manfred
Article comments
1 - Josh Mandell
I thought Serena was done... guess i was wrong
2 - manfred
Yah same here but well it just shows that a Williams doesn't need to be in grand form to take out half the WTA tour ;)
3 - sr
I dont play the game however I watched Serena play last night. Like womens tennis more then mens tennis. More action. Serena not only plays well, she is also beautiful. CONGRADULATIONS SERENA.
4 - Hank Sloan
She will dominate for quite a while in the WTA. Her power and size gives her a huge advantage over the competition.
5 - manfred
Well her power is raw. I think Justine Henin and perhaps an in form Martina Hingis have the wits to to deal with that kind of brawn.
Congratz to Serena and I hope to see a great tennis year with her staying injury free.
6 - reggie von woic
I didn't see the game but i found it on youtube....serena kicked ass HARD!
7 - daniel
congrats serena! did not catch the game but i know you rocked anyway.
8 - verily
Serena Williams is an extremely SKILLFUL tennis player. The people crazily merely concentrating on her strength obviously don't really know tennis. Serena's fastest serve at the 2007 Australian Open was 121 mph. Another SEEDED competitor of hers during the Aussie Open had a serve of 120 mph! In case you're wondering, Serena's was only 1 mph faster! lol Serena Williams wins because she is the most complete and skillful tennis player on tour. She hits passing shots, cross court acute angles, drop shots, lobs, aces down the line or at acute angles as well, and all of that amounts to amazing skill, NOT mere power. In fact a player known for his POWER, Pete Sampras, NEVER won the French Open over his ENTIRE career because the clay of the French Open MUTES power and a player must rely more on finesse. Serena Williams DID win the French Open fairly early in her career, though, because SHE is a quick study, a BRILLIANT tennis player, and again - a consummately SKILLFUL player. Btw, John McEnroe NEVER won the French Open either!
Verily