(Rank/Seed)
As I and no doubt most predicted, (1/1) Serena was just too good for (2/2) Sharapova, becoming the first woman to defend this title with a 61 64 victory.
1st Set
Sharapova got off to a terrible start, going down 0-4 before she could even realise what hit her. The first set was a testament to the mental hold Serena has over Maria due to the depressing 2-12 deficit Sharapova carried against her. She barely held the one service game she won in the first as Serena looked coolly imperious and controlled, often exploiting the cross court angles and playing within herself. Maria in contrast was as erratic as they come, missing comfortable baseline shots.
2nd Set
There was a small curve ball at the beginning as Maria broke Serena for the first time and looked good at 3-1. But Serena played the angles beautifully whilst Maria's double faulting (8 in total during the match) crippled her cause. Serena broke at love emphatically to claim the title and remain the world number one.
Serena now leads Maria 13-2, 3-0 on clay and has won their last 12 meetings. She extends her winning streak to 19 with her fourth title this year and becomes only the 10th woman in the open era to win 50 titles! Amazingly, it's her first red clay court title since the French Open 2002! Sharapova's clay court winning streak is snapped at 21 and her red clay court streak at 25, by Serena as usual! It was her first loss on red clay since the French Open semis 2011 and her first ever loss in a clay court final!
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