Unstoppable Serena Conquers Paris

When she's on, there's probably not a single player who can stand a chance against Serena Williams. I always believed that beating Serena is an extremely difficult, if not impossible task. Few have done it recently, and there are even fewer who have achieved the feat in a Grand Slam. 

Following her stunning defeat to Frenchwoman Virginie Razzano in the first round of the French Open last year, Serena had just one thing on her mind: vengeance. The American has had an impeccable clay-court season this year, winning titles in Charleston, Madrid and Rome, but she still needed to win Roland Garros to complete her revenge.

Although she always felt at ease in Paris, she only won the tournament once, in 2002, following a victory over her sister, Venus. Since then, she never made the finals, so she was determined to change her fortunes this year. When Serena sets her mind on something, there little to stop her and she proved it again during the fortnight. Careful to avoid any unexpected hiccups, the American was razor sharp from the first round, reaching the quarterfinals without dropping more than three games in a set. Although she was tested in the quarterfinals, she found a way to overcome former champion, Svetlana Kuznetsova, 6-1,3-6,6-3. Serena quickly regained her focus, crushing last year's runner-up, Italian Sara Errani, to make just her second Roland Garros final.

Cheered by her French boyfriend, coach Patrick Mouratoglu, Williams faced defending champion, Maria Sharapova, for the title. Sharapova gave it her all to make the last act, coming from behind to succumb Serbian Jelena Jankovic, respectively Victoria Azarenka, but all her resources were not enough to stop Serena, who was too strong. Even though she didn't play her utmost best, she remained calm under pressure, found her big serves, and ultimately close out a straight sets victory with her 10th ace.

Talking about the fact that her second Roland Garros crown came eleven years after her maiden success in Paris, Serena said: "I always practice weeks and years in advance. And now I've had 11 years to practice it! Actually 11 years ago I didn't even think I'd still be playing. I never thought I would play past 28, or something like that. But I'm still here. And this one was so good. It's the only one I hadn't won more than one of. Now I have multiple titles at every major, singles and doubles, so I'm really pumped."

Riding on her longest winning streak, 31 consecutive matches, Serena is now hot favourite to successfully defend her Wimbledon title. Probably the only one who can stop her is Azarenka, though if she maintains the level shown in Paris, she will be impossible to stop.

Following an impeccable clay-court season, Serena finally won her second French Open title, eleven years after claiming her maiden crown in 2002. The American world No.1 now holds 16 Grand Slam titles, two short of equaling Evert's and Navratilova's record.

Continuing her supremacy over Maria Sharapova, Serena beat the Russian defending champion 6-4,6-3 in the final. She received the Suzanne Lenglen Cup from clay-court legend, Spaniard Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario.

photos: GETTY IMAGES