At 31, the oldest World #1 woman in the open era, Serena Williams, dominated the 2013 French Open from start to finish, and it was a grand finish. Pushed to three sets only once throughout the seven matches, Serena finished off a spectacular performance by defeating World #2, Maria Sharapova, 6-4, 6-4 in the final match.
It was Serena’s 16th major title, which ended her 11-year wait for a second title at Roland Garros. Back in 2002, she defeated her sister Venus Williams for her only other French Open championship.
Of current players, only Swiss ace Federer, who lead the men’s list with 17, is ahead of her. Serena has her sights set on tying that record at Wimbledon.
She dropped 29 games, matching her best Grand Slam effort (she also dropped 29 games on her way to the 2002 U.S. Open title).
Serena’s celebration at the end looked much like a first-time-major champion: sinking to her knees, burying her face in the clay, then her hands, and flashing big, bright, wide smiles throughout the trophy ceremony.
Since she was defeated in the first round at the French Open last year, Serena has captured three of the last four majors and a gold medal at the London Olympics. It appears at the moment that there is little anyone can do to really challenge her. Her records may continue to grow for quite a while. How much longer can she keep this going? “I want to go out in my peak,” she said. “That’s my goal. But have I peaked yet?”
Serena improved to 43-2 this year, and is on a career-best 31-match winning streak. She wrapped up the clay season unbeaten, including 23-0. She also passed seven-time champion Chris Evert as the oldest Roland Garros winner in the Open era (31 years, 256 days). This also completed her 2nd career slam.
