Serena Williams wins Australian Open for the third time
Posted on January 27, 2007 - Filed Under Australian Open, Tennis | Leave a Comment
Serena Williams became just the second women ever unseeded player and the first since 1978 to lift the Australian Open crown for the third time in her career. Serena stunned hot favorite Russian Maria Sharapova to win 6-1 6-2 in a trifle over one hour. Serena who was ranked a lowly 81st coming into the tournament made an absolute mockery of the ranking as she forced her way through the tournament with her powerful ground strokes and immaculate strength both which are a characteristic of Williams’ play. The victory would take Williams to 14th in the ranking as she continues to claw her way back into the top ten having suffered a career threatening knee injury.
From the first point onwards there looked only one winner in the match and that undoubtedly being Serena. Maria struggled with her serve and Serena dominated her own which set the tone for the rest of the match. She lost her service twice in the first set which lasted just about 27 minutes. Sharapova managing to win just one game and hardly managing any winners seriously dented her confidence. The second set started pretty much on a similar not when the Russian was immediately broken to cede advantage to Serena who had little problem in taking the second set 6-2 and seal the championship. And that sealed one of the most remarkable injury come backs seen in recent times.
Sharapova would gain the number one ranking when WTA announces new rankings on Monday, but she would do better to put this game behind her and look forward to the future. The Russian was very gracious in defeat saying that Serena was an amazing champion. As far as Serena is concerned she very well knows that if she continues like this its not too far away when she for sure would be one of the top three ranked players in the world, if not the number one that is. As of now this is her third Aussie Open crown following her triumphs in 2003 and 2005.
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