In an impressive showdown, Serena Williams took the Australian Open Title, crushing opponent Maria Sharapova. Although onlookers were amazed at the power and resilience of both women battling for one title, it was Williams who won 6-3, 7-6, her 16th victory in a row. Throughout the tournament, neither player would back down, instead giving it everything they had.
After winning, Williams admitted that Sharapova gave her a run for her money. With this win, Williams now has 19 Grand Slam titles, pushing her ahead of tennis greats Martina Navratilova and Chris Evert. This particular match was extremely tough because Sharapova is an undeniable force but in addition, Williams had not been feeling well the previous night.
In fact, she was forced to cut her practice down and on the morning of the tournament, was running a fever of 102 degrees. During the middle of the first set, play was halted temporarily because of rain, giving Williams an opportunity to go to the bathroom to throw up. However, she stated that after getting sick, she felt better.
Along with Williams’ incredible performance, Sharapova is an outstanding tennis player in her own right although she has not had a victory since 2004. The two had played against each other on all types of courts both indoors and outdoors so this particular match, filled with screaming, vomiting, rain, and hours of hard work, was extraordinary.
Following her win, Williams took to the microphone to praise her opponent, saying that she loves playing against her because she is truly the best and it is important to always play the best. Williams added that she is extremely proud to have played during the same era as Sharapova.
This match was loud, fiery, and almost gladiator like. However, it was played with a lot of respect between the two stars, each giving it everything possible. During the second set, Williams struggled somewhat yet somehow she pulled out one of her specially designed serves to get back on top.
As Sharapova said, it would be great to hit a 200kph serve but with her shoulder, that is probably not going to happen. The two were also challenged in the second set with rising temperatures, followed by increased volume between the players. In fact, there were times when onlookers were not sure if Williams and Sharapova were yelling at each other or themselves.
These two have had a lot of animosity for 11 years but at the same time, they highly respect each other. When Sharapova saved her first match point at 4-5 to include an inside-out forehand winner, it was Williams who applauded her.
After battling back and forth for two hours, Williams began to look tired, only to finally find her second win. With that, her skill, drive, power, and endurance surfaced, taking her to the very end as the ultimate winner.