Serena Williams did not have the beginning of the season she was hoping for, but the American did enough to take over the world number 1 ranking from an injured Victoria Azarenka, becoming thus the oldest female in the history of the game to hold the top spot.
After a flourishing debut in Brisbane, Serena battled a series of injuries that prevented her from playing her best tennis. She lost early in Melbourne, succumbed to Vika in the final of Doha, then withdrew last minute from Dubai. She took a few weeks to regroup, then made a winning return in Miami, one of her favourite venues, where she captured a record sixth crown.
Although I feel she lost a bit from her invincibility aura, the American has been in great form throughout the fortnight, battling her way against some inspired opponents to lift her 49th career title. Serena also showed her trademark fighting spirit, coming from behind to dispose of Slovak Dominika Cibulkova in the fourth round, before surviving a tough two-setter against Australian Open finalist, Na Li, in the quarterfinals. She followed that up with a convincing 6-3,6-0 win over defending champion, Agnieszka Radwanksa. In the final, she continued her dominance over Russian Maria Sharapova, regrouping after the loss of the first set to finish strongly, winning the encounter 4-6,6-3,6-0. This was her eleven straight victory over Maria, who has now lost five finals at Key Biscayne.
The American now sets her sights on the clay-court season where she is hoping to defend titles at Charleston and Madrid. She has lots of points to protect, so it will be interesting to see if she can hold on to her No.1 spot, especially as Azarenka has been in invincible mode this year.
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| Serena has always felt at home in Miami, and this year she broke the record for most titles at the event, beating Maria Sharapova 4-6,6-3,6-0 to win her sixth crown. The Russian has now lost 11 straight matches to Williams and five finals in Miami. |
photos: GETTY IMAGES
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