women’s Tennis champions : 19 Week 2013

SERENA

BEATS

SHARAPOVA

TO WIN

MADRID OPEN

TITLE

MADRID, Spain — Serena Williams kept the No. 1, and added No. 50.

Williams beat Maria Sharapova 6-1, 6-4 in the final of the Madrid Open Sunday to both retain her No. 1 ranking and collect her 50th career title. The second-ranked Russian would have overtaken the top spot with a win, but Williams stormed out to an early lead as Sharapova struggled with her serve.

“It feels good,” Williams said about reaching her 50th title. “I don’t know how many more I can win. Who knows if I will ever win another title? I just want to live the dream. Hopefully I can keep it going.

“When you first start out everything is so exciting. Now I expect to win.”

Williams improved her record against Sharapova to 13-2, with her only two losses coming in 2004.

The 31-year-old Williams, playing in her first red clay final since 2002, dominated Sharapova from the start as the Russian never managed to steady her erratic serve.

Williams closed out the final after Sharapova recorded her eighth and final double fault before hitting the ball long to give up her fifth service game.

Last year, Williams won here on the experimental blue clay surface that was removed after complaints from players that it was too slick.

Williams said the move back to red clay meant the tournament was a good warm-up for the French Open starting at the end of the month.

“This court is definitely different,” she said. “It plays like Roland Garros and that is a plus. So I think it is great preparation.”

Images and text credits  ; http://www.tsn.ca/tennis/

compiled by : ram0ram