SERENA WILLIAMS
Posted below is the account of Serena Williams' latest victory. Do you think she's the greatest woman to have ever played the game?
BRISBANE, Australia (AP) -- This was one time Serena Williams didn't mind being pushed into the deep end, to use her own description.
The top-ranked Williams carried her winning momentum into 2014, beating No. 2-ranked Victoria Azarenka 6-4, 7-5 Saturday to defend her title at the Brisbane International and set the tone for the Australian Open.
Serena extended her winning streak to 22 matches with the emphatic win over the reigning Australian Open champion, making it back-to-back victories over two of her main rivals. She beat four-time major winner Maria Sharapova in straight sets in an intense semifinal, her 14th consecutive win in that frosty duel.
She improved to 14-3 against Azarenka, the last person to beat her last year. Before the semifinals, Williams said there was nothing like being ''thrown into the deep end straight away.''
Williams thought it was the ideal season-opening tournament.
''It was a great test. It showed me where my level was,'' Williams said, looking ahead to the Australian Open. ''I'm happy I was able to play both Maria and Victoria, because they brought their A games against me. I know now what I need to do for Melbourne - I look forward to it.''
The year's first major starts Jan. 13 at Melbourne Park and Williams, who won 78 of her 82 matches and collected 11 titles last year, is positioning herself as the favorite to claim a sixth Australian title after winning a tournament featuring six of the top 10 women.
Williams has so many trophies now, she said she doesn't know where they all are - ''some are MIA'' - but that doesn't stop her from collecting more. This was her 58th, including 17 majors.
2 comments:
What about Steffi Graf?
Chris Evert in her heyday wouldn't win a game off of Serena and Navratilova might win a game or two per set. Serena would just overpower any of the ones before her.
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