Serena Williams dominates Maria Sharapova to cap career Golden Slam
Serena Williams, playing some of the most dominant tennis the sport has ever seen, won the gold medal at the Olympics on Saturday morning, defeating Maria Sharapova 6-0, 6-1 at Wimbledon and capping the career Golden Slam.
She became the second woman to win all four majors and Olympic gold. Steffi Graf completed the feat in 1988.
En route to the gold, Serena played the most dominant stretch of tennis in her illustrious career: In the third round, she defeated former world No. 2 Vera Zvonareva 6-1, 6-0. Caroline Wozniacki, a former No. 1, went down 6-0, 6-3 in the quarterfinals. The current No. 1, Victoria Azarenka, was a 6-1, 6-2 victim in the semifinals. And then on Saturday, against the reigning French Open champion, recent No. 1 and international superstar, Serena was nearly perfect.
There were sarcastic cheers when Sharapova finally won a game at 0-6, 1-3.
Overall, she lost just 17 games in the tournament. Roger Federer lost more in one set on Friday.
Serena now has a seven-match winning streak against her Russian counterpart. It's said only two things bother Sharapova: wind and Serena. She got both today. The whipping wind didn't help her serve and led to an early break, which set the tone for the match.
"I don't think it's her," Serena said of Sharapova after the match, "I just think today I played well."
She won 13 straight matches this year at the All England Club, seven at Wimbledon and six at the Olympics.
