Serena Joins Elite Company With Title Win in Miami

April 1, 2013 | By Long Island Tennis Magazine Staff
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Photo credit: Kenneth B. Goldberg

Serena Williams fought back from a set down to capture her sixth 2013 Sony Open title in Miami, after her 4-6, 6-3, 6-0 win over Maria Sharapova. With the win, Serena joined an elite group of players who have won a single WTA event at least six times, a group including Chris Evert, Steffi Graf and Martina Navratilova. 

The numbers from the match were telling, as Serena had 14 winners to 18 unforced errors in the first set, but finished the match with 34 winners to 29 unforced errors—a very positive 20 to 11 across the second and third sets, most of those errors coming in the first five games of the second set.

"Maria definitely pushed me—she did a really great job today," Serena said. "Like she said, I look forward to our next matches—it’s going to be really fun for the fans and for us and for everyone."

With the loss to Serena, Sharapova fell to 0-5 in finals in Miami, having also been runner-up in 2005 (to Kim Clijsters), 2006 (to Svetlana Kuznetsova), 2011 (to Victoria Azarenka) and 2012 (to Agnieszka Radwanska).

"I had my chances," said Sharapova. "There’s no reason why I couldn’t win the match today. It was a step in the right direction and there’s no doubt that we’ll be playing many more times. There’s no doubt I’ll be able to beat her."


Long Island Tennis Magazine Staff
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