August 4, 2012 | By Long Island Tennis Magazine Staff
Photo credit: Kenneth B. Goldberg
Fourteen-time Grand Slam winner Serena Williams of the United States defeated Russia’s Maria Sharapova 6-0, 6-1 to win the Gold Medal in the 2012 London Olympics Women’s Singles Tennis Final. Serena joins elite company, as she has won a career singles Golden Grand Slam, in naddition to the two doubles Gold Medals that she won with sister Venus. Serena is currently on a 17-match winning streak and has won the last seven matches she played against Sharapova, who took home the Silver Medal.
The 30-year-old Serena lost just five games in the three Olympic finals she has won: 2000 Sydney doubles, 2008 Beijing doubles and today in 2012 London singles.
Olympic Bronze went to Victoria Azarenka of Belarus, a 6-1, 6-0 winner over Russia’s Maria Kirilenko.
Azareka’s win ensured that the three women’s Grand Slam winners to date collected three the women’s singles medals up for grabs at London 2012, as Azarenka added a Bronze Medal to her 2012 Australian Open title, Sharapova added a Silver Medal to her 2012 French Open title, and Serena added her Gold Medal to her 2012 Wimbledon Championship.
