Serena Williams demolished Maria Sharapova 6-0, 6-1 en route to winning the Olympic gold medal and securing a career golden slam.

Williams stamped her authority on the competition from the outset and lost just 17 games through the course of the competition. The impressive gold medal match victory leaves her on a 17 match-winning streak since her shocking first round exit at the French Open.

The 63 minute final saw the American drop just one game against Sharapova, and was the most comprehensive Olympic women’s single win.

She joins Germany’s Steffi Graf, Andre Agassi of the United States and Spain’s Rafael Nadal as the only players to have won all four Grand Slams and Olympic gold in singles.

“Oh my gosh, I got the gold. I’ve never played better. Playing against someone like Maria you have to be at your best. I knew that, so it was like I had nothing to lose,” said Williams.

“I never expected gold in singles. I was so happy with my doubles golds [in Sydney 2000 and Beijing 2008].

“I thought, ‘If my career’s over I have my gold medal and now I have everything.’

“I have singles, doubles, actually everything there is to win in tennis. Where do I go from here?”

Silver medal winner, Sharapova said: ”Serena played some incredible tennis, with the form she was in during Wimbledon and afterwards.

“With every match she has played she has played great, she has improved and become better, and that showed today.”

Williams teamed up with sister Venus to win the doubles gold medal in a similar fashion, with the pair not dropping a set in the concurrent competition.

She hopes to continue her form into the final part of the season as she attempts to win her 15^th grand slam singles title at the US Open in a few weeks time.

In the bronze medal match, Victoria Azerenka beat Maria Kirilenko to secure her first Olympic medal.

Azerenka went on to win the mixed gold with partner Max Mirnyi leaving her and Williams with two medals each.

Image Courtesy of   Neale Cousland / Shutterstock.com

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Roger Federer played some of the best tennis of his life to beat Britain’s Andy Murray in the Wimbledon final yesterday.

Federer came back from a set and a break down to win 4-6, 7-5, 6-3, 6-4, claim his seventh Wimbledon title and 17^th career grandslam.

It was his first major victory since January 2010, and the king of the grass was relieved to be back at the top after a couple of years absent from the Wimbledon final with people doubting him.

“I think the belief got me to victory today, and almost two other ones in the last couple of years as well,” he said.

“When it all happened I was just so happy that it was all over and that the pressure was gone, basically.

“I guess that came due to the tough loss I had here last year. There were a couple of tough moments for me over the last couple years.

“But I think I’m playing some of the best tennis of my life right now.”

An emotional Murray was reduced to tears in front of his home crowd, showing how much the Wimbledon title meant to him.

He has now lost all four of his grand-slam finals – a feat that only his coach, Ivan Lendl, and Kim Clijsters have ever done before – the future looks bright if history is anything to go by.

This was by far his best effort; however, and while he will take some time to recover from this loss, he will be proud of the improvements he has made, particularly in his mental game.

“I am getting closer,” a tearful Murray said to the BBC immediately after the match.

“Everybody always talks about the pressure of playing at Wimbledon, but it’s not the people watching – they make it incredible.

“I felt like I was playing for the nation and I couldn’t quite do it.

“We’re talking about one of the greatest athletes of all time. You’ve got to put it in context a little bit.”

Murray got off to a flying start and made the Swiss superstar look distinctly average for a set and half. But after Federer clinched the second set the rain came down, meaning the remainder of the match was played under the roof of centre court.

Federer was able to hit his precise shots without the elements affecting him and showed the world why he has such an immaculate indoor record.

Murray never gave up fighting however, and pushed Federer until the final point.

A twenty minute game in the third set on the Scot’s serve in which he saved six break points before surrendering to the relentless pressure of Federer was the turning point of the match.

The 30-year-old continued to elevate his game, and played two of the best sets of his life to complete the turnaround.

He now regains the number one spot and will match Sampras’ record of 286 weeks at the top of the rankings.

Murray many have lost the final, but he won the hearts of a nation, and showed the world how close he is getting to that elusive grand slam he deserves.

He will join Federer and the other top players back at SW19 in a few weeks to compete for the Olympic title before the American hard court season and the US Open at the end of next month.

Image Courtesy of  meunierd / Shutterstock.com

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Serena Williams overcame a fight back from Agnieszka Radwanska to claim her fifth Wimbledon singles title in three sets with scores of 6-1, 5-7, and 6-2.

Williams dominated the first set in a little over 30 minutes before the third seed from Poland managed to find her feet. But Radwanska, who has been suffering from a virus for the last few days, made the most of the rain break after the first set and came out fighting to sneak the second. Williams managed to regroup in the third and won her 14^th Grand Slam title just two years after a life-threatening illness.

“I can’t even describe it. I almost didn’t make it a few years ago,” an emotional Williams told the BBC, referring to her health problems. “I was in hospital but now I’m here again and it was so worth it. I’m so happy. Aggie played so well. That’s why she’s had such a great career, and she’s so young.”

A three setter never looked on the cards after Williams came out all guns blazing. Radwanska even went a break down 2-1 in the second before she found her form. She clawed back the break and hit some magical winners to show how she had made the final for the first time.

The American looked to have no answer at the end of the second set and her serve, which was so impressive throughout the tournament, failed to fire. But Williams showed her champion mentality and regrouped in the final set, completing one game in just 49 seconds by hitting four aces.

She served 17 aces in the final, bringing her total to 103, the highest of any man or woman at this year’s Wimbledon.

Her victory is the first by a lady over 30 since Martina Navratilova in 1990 and it looks like there will be more to come.

Radwanska will take confidence from this tournament though– her best grand slam to date – and she will be ranked number two in the world on Monday. Her consistent hitting, anticipation and finesse touch is a refreshing change reminiscent of Martina Hingis; and shows there is still a place in the game for those who can’t simply rely on big hitting from the baseline.

But it is Williams who has confirmed her position as one of the greatest – if not the greatest female ever to play the game with such an impressive victory.

Image Courtesy of  Kat Shann

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For years, Wimbledon has been well dominated by the previous Champions. It has been only a few times during the past ten years that a new player would break in to win it all. Look at the Williams Sisters, together they won nine out of the eleven women’s single titles since the year 2000, five from Venus and four from the younger sibling, Serena. On the men’s side, the story plays out similarly: Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal together won eight consecutive titles since 2003.

Wimbledon, being a grass court tournament, gives Federer a huge advantage. He plays so well on this surface that some even nicknamed Wimbledon “Federer’s Backyard” as a result of winning the total of six titles in the last 8 years.

Coming back to this year’s Men Draw, the top guns include Federer, Nadal, and Novak Djokovic. Many have been talking about how Andy Murray would finally clinch the prestigious Wimbledon title this year, as he was talked about last year and the year before. Personally, I’m not quite sure if he will do it simply because he hasn’t done so well in the deep round against the top three players in the Grand Slams. True, there are days when he plays unbelievably well but in the end, I feel that he still lacks consistency and the readiness to fight in the highest stages. The truth is it’s not easy to take the trophy away from the main men. For the last 18 Grand Slams, the only players aside from Nadal and Federer able to win the titles include just Marat Safin (Australian Open 2005), Juan Martin del Potro (US Open 2009), and Novak Djokovic ( Australian Open 2008, 2011)

On the women’s side, things are up in the air. The Williams Sisters who have not played for months as a result of their injuries, just can’t be counted out. The veteran players have never stopped wanting it and their ability to find a way to come back in any matches making them dangerous contenders, especially in the Grand Slam stage. Meanwhile Maria Sharapova, Caroline Wozniacki, Vera Zvonerava, and Li Na are among this year’s women contenders.

Sharapova, the 2004 Wimbledon Champion, have been playing pretty well. The great thing about Sharapova is she always goes for it, hitting every shot as if she has nothing to lose. If she can get rid of her double fault problems, she will surely be dangerous in the field. Wozniacki, on the other hand, has been doing great in the past year with multiple wins in smaller tournaments. In my opinion, the only factor preventing her from winning a Grand Slam is her mental toughness, because no doubt, she has a great game, defensively and offensively. She needs to bring what makes her so successful in these tournament to the more important tournament like Wimbledon. As for Li Na, she has been to the deep round of Wimbledon before and coming off with a win from Roland Garros might give her an extra motivation to win another title. Lastly Zvonerava, who also played very well on grass, should advance to at least a quarterfinal since she is in the bottom draw, which is less competitive than the top section containing Serena, Sharapova, Woznizcki, and Li.

At this point, I’m really excited to see which female player will be crowned this year’s Champion. As much as I praise and root for Serena to win, coming back from a serious illness, I would also like to see the title being won by the new face.

My father always says “In tennis, clinching a grand slam title is not just about having an incredible game, it also has a lot to do with how tough you can stay throughout the match physically and mentally”. He has his point.

Lucy Clark / Shutterstock.com

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