Serena Williams Defeats Maria Sharapova For Australian Open Title – Closing In On 22

Written by: Global Chick on 31st January 2015

Serena Williams Defeats Maria Sharapova For Australian Open Title - Closing In On 22 |

Closing in on 22

Could it be possible, is it feasible? No – not whether Maria Sharapova could snap that fast-becoming-Berdych-esque losing streak against Serena Williams, but could she get that to that 22^nd Slam title to put her level with Steffi Graf?

If you asked us last year, Williams would have already been heading for Bondi beach having suffered another earlier than expected exit in Melbourne but now, with three Slams still outstanding in a year, how would you count against her in this form.

Even with a cold, and coughing and spluttering all the way up to the final, she stepped up the level to outstanding effect from the start of the final, and after the Melbourne weather finally made its feelings known, she started the better at the resumption and sealed the first set.

Props to Sharapova, she fought tooth and nail in the second set, and it really turned out to be a treat, with Sharapova handily saving the first match point and giving us all hope that we could see this turn into their 2007 three-set battle.

It was a finger-gnawing tie-break with Sharapova batting away a second match point and the stadium, nay the tennis watching world gasped as Serena hammered down a serve, only for it to be announced as a let. Never mind, said she – we’ll just do it again, for a 6-4 7-6(5) win.

That’s not to say that the great champion didn’t have a touch of doubt:

“I thought after the let, ‘Man, I am not meant to win this tournament.’ I had a couple of match points. I mean, she played great on those match points. She totally went for broke. I was like, ‘C’mon. Why do I hear the let.’ Then I was like, ‘Do I go T? Do I go wide? What am I going to do?’

At a time when Andy Murray is throwing himself firmly behind More Women in Sport, seriously who would count out this chick writing about Serena equalling Graf’s record by the end of the US Open?

While we are on the subject of Murray, is this is time to shake off his demons? Alter all he cried at Wimbledon and then won, and he’s had a bit of a weep here in the past so maybe the tear gods are overdue a bit of smiling on him.

He has a really good chance to do it too – bizarrely Novak Djokovic saw fit to admit that his performance was under-par in the semi-final (and we won’t be vehemently disagreeing with him there!) to admit that so readily is surprising from the World No. 1.

Murray is looking very comfortable and scarily calm and collected. This really ought to be his time.

Topics: American tennis news, Andy Murray, Australian Open, Australian Open 2015, Maria Sharapova, Novak Djokovic, Serena Williams, Stefi Graf, women singles champion, Women Tennis

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10sBalls_com says:

January 31, 2015 at 10:42 am

@serenawilliams Defeats @MariaSharapova For @AustralianOpen Title – Closing In On 22 http://t.co/E7YgTMnTBq #SerenaWilliams #tennis