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The curse continues as Serena closes in on 20 grand slam titles

Roar Guru
31st January, 2015
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Serena Williams' greatest tournament win came at Melbourne Park a decade ago. (AFP PHOTO/ Martin Bernetti)
Roar Guru
31st January, 2015
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The biggest curse in women’s tennis has continued, with Serena Williams fighting off a spirited second-set fightback from Maria Sharapova to claim her 19th Grand Slam singles title and edge closer to within the magical 20 milestone.

Williams entered the final on the back of some concerns over her health, having fallen ill during practice and cancelling several sessions on Friday. However, it did not seem to affect her as she restored her dominance at the Australian Open by winning for the sixth time from as many appearances in the championship match.

And in doing so she extended her domination of Maria Sharapova, defeating the Russian for the sixteenth consecutive time and seventh time overall.

While Sharapova may have been on the receiving end yet again, she was far from disgraced and made Williams work hard especially in the second set.

The American, appearing in her first Australian Open final since 2010, broke to start the match and then stayed ahead of Sharapova for the rest of the set, earning a double break to give herself the chance to serve for the opening set at 5-2.

But just as the five-time champion was about to stamp her authority on the match, Sharapova broke back to give herself a chance of staying in the set. However, the Russian would be broken to love immediately after, and Williams had the first set in the bag at 6-3.

Williams was now one set away from her 19th Grand Slam title. But if she thought she would have it easy from that point, she was wrong. Sharapova fought hard in the second set to force just the second tiebreak in a women’s final since 2003.

Sharapova saved a championship point on her own serve in the tenth game as she attempted to keep her dreams of a second Australian Open title alive. She won the first point against serve in the tiebreak, but Williams would fight back to take the championship on her fourth match point, sealing it with an ace.

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And so the world number one ended a five-year drought at Melbourne Park, having previously not held the Daphne Akhurst Memorial Cup since 2010 when she defeated Justine Henin in three sets in what was the Belgian’s first Grand Slam tournament since coming out of retirement at the end of 2009.

The excitement in Williams was obvious for all to see after the match, as the 33-year-old continued to prove that age is just a number and she still has what it takes to win the big titles at an age where many other players start to ponder retirement.

It could be the start of something very special for Serena Williams, as she bids to become the first woman since Steffi Graf in 1988 to achieve a Calendar Slam.

However, the American will have to wait another twelve months to embark on the Golden Calendar Slam, as the Rio Olympics aren’t until another 18 months.

The 2015 tennis season may only be a month old and while anything could happen between now and the French Open in May, Williams will want to hit the magical 20 milestone at one of the three remaining Grand Slam tournaments this year.

If she fails to hit the milestone at the French Open, then Wimbledon and the US Open, where she has won five and six titles respectively, might provide her the best chances to do so.

While it would be fitting if she was to achieve the milestone at her national Championships, it would also be appropriate if she were to achieve it at either Roland Garros or Wimbledon, where she failed to reach the fourth round at either tournament in 2014.

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As for Maria Sharapova, while she may have been outclassed by Williams yet again, she at least avoided yet another humiliating loss in an Australian Open final.

Whereby she was only able to win three games each in her losses to Williams and Victoria Azarenka in 2007 and 2012 respectively, she won nine games and showed why she reached the championship match this year in the first place.

The Russian will have the chance to add to her five Grand Slam titles which includes one each at the Australian Open, Wimbledon and the US Open, as well as two at the French Open where this year she is the defending champion.

All in all, it was an otherwise impressive start to the year for Sharapova, having claimed the Brisbane International as part of her warm-up to the Australian Open. However, Williams, who struggled at the Hopman Cup as the Russian reigned in the Queensland capital, proved a class above once again.

And so that wraps up the women’s tournament at the 2015 Australian Open, which saw a great final between the world’s top two, the semi-final run of Madison Keys, the resurgence of Venus Williams and many more.

The men’s champion is still to be decided, with Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray to lock horns for the third time in an Australian Open final and for the fifth time in a Grand Slam final tonight.

Just as the women’s final was, the men’s final promises to be another classic with Andy Murray desperate to put the pain of three previous defeats at the Australian Open behind him and Novak Djokovic keen to regain the title which he surrendered unwillingly to Stan Wawrinka last year.

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