Serena blasts Sharapova for Olympic gold

Published November 20, 2014

Serena Williams is golden.

The American superstar added Olympic singles gold to her 14 Grand Slam titles on Saturday with a straight-set pounding of Russia's Maria Sharapova in the women's tennis final at the London Games.

Williams completed a dominant week at Wimbledon with a 6-0, 6-1 victory over Sharapova in what was expected to be a blockbuster women's final at the Olympic tennis tournament.

Instead, it was completely one-sided at the venerable All England Club, where both women had already tasted success. Williams won her fifth Wimbledon singles crown last month, while Sharapova won the first of her four Grand Slam titles on the famed lawns of the London suburb in 2004.

Sharapova, as a 17-year-old eight years ago, beat Williams in that Wimbledon final. The 6-1, 6-4 triumph denied Williams a Wimbledon three-peat. There was no denying the American great on this particular Saturday.

Williams won the first nine games of the match, completing the first set in a mere 30 minutes by winning 28 of the 40 points played. Sharapova finally got on the board in the fourth game of the second set. She then had a pair of break-point chances in the next game, but failed to convert either and Williams re-established control.

After holding serve for 4-1, she broke quickly again in the next game and finished it off in just over an hour with her 10th ace on her first match point.

Williams, who won Olympic doubles gold with sister Venus in 2000 and 2008, dropped a mere 17 games during her six matches this week. Saturday marked the third time she won a set without losing a game and no one managed to take more than three games in any set from her.

"I was so focused here," Williams said about her stellar week. "I remember I was serving and I was thinking, 'Serena, this is your best chance to win a gold medal. You played Wimbledon on grass. You played great on grass. Pull it together.' I was thinking, I got to do this."

Sharapova, like Williams, was trying for a Golden Slam. She captured the French Open title earlier this year to complete a career Grand Slam and on Saturday could have regained the world's top ranking with a victory.

"Obviously, there's things that I could have done different," said Sharapova, "but she was just too quick and too powerful today."

Seeded fourth this week, Williams became the fourth American to win Olympic singles gold since tennis again joined the Olympic program in 1988. Venus was the last to do it in 2000, while Jennifer Capriati claimed the 1992 title and Lindsay Davenport won it in 1996.

"I would have been happy whether I would have got a silver or gold," Williams added. "It's such a great achievement to get on that medal stand, but obviously I wanted gold. Now Venus and I both have gold singles, so it's pretty cool."

Saturday's triumph also made Williams the second woman to win all four Grand Slam titles and Olympic gold, as she joined the legendary Steffi Graf, who claimed the 1988 Olympic championship.

Williams improved to 9-2 lifetime against Sharapova and emerged victorious for the eighth straight time. It was their second meeting this year -- Williams a 6-1, 6-3 winner in the Madrid quarterfinals -- and their third matchup at Wimbledon. In addition to the 2004 final, the two met in the 2010 round of 16 at the AEC with Williams winning 7-6 (9-7), 6-4.

The 30-year-old Williams claimed her fifth title of 2012 and the 44th of her brilliant career.

Victoria Azarenka of Belarus captured the bronze medal earlier on Saturday with a straight-set win over Russia's Maria Kirilenko.

The top-seeded Azarenka earned a 6-3, 6-4 victory for her first Olympic medal.

Azarenka, coming off a 6-1, 6-2 loss to Serena Williams in the semifinals, won the first three games of Saturday's match. Kirilenko, who lost to countrymate Maria Sharapova on Friday, then won the next three before Azarenka captured the final three to claim the opening set.

The second set was nearly identical, as Azarenka won the first three games and Kirilenko the next three. Azarenka then broke serve for a 4-3 lead and held for 5-3 before Kirilenko held and made Azarenka serve for the match. She did so and wrapped it up on her second match point.

URL

https://www.foxnews.com/sports/serena-blasts-sharapova-for-olympic-gold