Serena Williams Routs Victoria Azarenka To Win Madrid Open

Serena Williams from U.S. right, holds the winner's trophy after defeating Victoria Azarenka from Belarus, left, following their singles women's final tennis match at the Madrid Open tennis tournament in Madrid Sunday, May 13, 2012. (AP Photo/Daniel Ochoa de Olza)

MADRID -- Serena Williams overpowered Victoria Azarenka 6-1, 6-3 Sunday, winning the Madrid Open and leaving her top-ranked opponent so exasperated she smashed her racket to the ground.

In a match between two of the tour's heaviest hitters, Williams battered Azarenka on the new blue clay court with big serves and fierce returns. The 13-time Grand Slam winner captured the first four games and had no trouble the rest of the way.

"I can still do better," said Williams, who took a yearlong absence because of illness in 2011. "This is really good. I have been working hard. I had some tough battles and really unfortunate circumstances so I really love this."

Later, Roger Federer plays Tomas Berdych in the men's final, with the Swiss star going for his third title in this tournament.

Williams served 14 aces on her way to avenging her only loss in six previous meetings with Azarenka. She was beaten by the Belarus star in the 2009 final in Miami.

Williams won the 41st title of her career and second this season. She is unbeaten in her last 13 matches on clay. Azarenka had won her four previous tournaments.

Williams broke in Azarenka's first service game when the Australian Open winner could only stab her stinging returns into the stands. William's strong start left Azarenka shaken, and she committed three double-faults to cede her serve again and trail 3-0.

The flustered Azarenka netted a forehand after Williams had fallen on the slick surface and left the entire court open. She then produced another double-fault to conclude a dreadful first set.

Williams kept the momentum going, hitting her fifth and sixth aces to hold for love at the start of the second set.

As her frustration boiled over, Azarenka smashed her racket to the ground moments before Williams blasted a return by her to break her yet again.

Williams sealed the victory in 64 minutes with her final ace.

"I want to congratulate Serena for a great week," Azarenka said. "She did a great job.

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Comments

[BaldIsBeautiful]

04:53 PM on 05/16/2012

That's the winners trophy? Serena's bling is bigger than that.

[passingthought]

09:58 PM on 05/14/2012

WAY TO GO! OK WHEN THE NEXT BIKINI SHOT?

[M Smoove]

03:35 PM on 05/14/2012

Congratulations on the win Serena... But I think that Victoria Azarenka's silver plate looks better than that thing-a-ma-jig that you were given.

[passingthought]

09:59 PM on 05/14/2012

But Serenas check looked better!

[Winthorpe]

11:40 AM on 05/15/2012

No kidding, what a joke. I know that Spain's economy is in rough shape, but come on.

[BeyondTheBull]

03:10 PM on 05/14/2012

I was disappointed that when Azarenka attempted to smash her racket, she failed... maybe lessons from Serena? One of the things that Serena does extremely well is smashing rackets ... when she smashes a racket ...it's considered racket cruelty. Great match .... and even Azarenka had to smile at Serena's final point when the ball jumped over Azarenka's racket.

[Bados]

02:45 AM on 05/14/2012

Nice work and great to see positive comments.

[simsum]

01:41 AM on 05/14/2012

Thanks Victoria. Next!

[NyPrincess]

07:12 PM on 05/13/2012

Congrats Serena!

[dchotrod69]

05:23 PM on 05/13/2012

Serena played extremely well in Charleston. She beat Stosur and Safarova badly in the semis and the finals there, and I remember thinking that, as a long time Serena fan, that was the best I'd ever seen her play. The whippin' she put on Sharapova and Azarenka, who are the top 2 ranked female tennis players in the world, was also jaw dropping. This is going to be a very interesting year in tennis. :-)

[gwj2000]

03:31 PM on 05/13/2012

Serena's game is at the best we've seen in quite some time. She's great.

[RayZarukkus]

03:26 PM on 05/13/2012

Serena and Venus have through the years, been two of the really consistent names doing a lot of heavy lifting for American tennis at a high level.
There is an urgent need for players of similar caliber to step up and lighten the load.
Else soon who will people have to cheer for on the home team?

[Olympian2012]

03:50 PM on 05/13/2012

Honestly, no one. Other than the Serena and Venus there are no American women that are any where near the top 30 in the world. The sport is really dominated by Europeans; just look at the rankings. Melanie Oudin showed some promise a few years back, but has not advancd very beyond since, but she's still young so she can still become a future contender.

[dchotrod69]

05:25 PM on 05/13/2012

Melanie Oudin will have to develop consistency and a weapon that will equal her mouth before she starts to make noise. I was impressed with Christina McHale in Fed Cup action, so she's one to watch.

[RusStyles]

05:15 PM on 05/13/2012

The WSs, by in large, aren't even cheered for by their fellow Americans. When they play England they get a warmer reception...one tourney, I think Indian Wells, the crowd was so offensive a few years ago they refuse to return, and I don't blame them. They are criticized for having a life outside of tennis. And Serena best not lose her cool o. The court, she'll get lambasted for months. The insults on blogs are beyond the pale. They're constantly referred to as men, and other animal terms. Why would any promising young black female athletes want to channel their athleticism into tennis, besides the fact its popularity seems to be waning--precipitously....

[MoeB]

02:23 PM on 05/14/2012

Oh, not just "for months"...Serena will NEVER live down her meltdowns at the US Open. Tennis is an international sport...even at 33, I'm still flabbergasted at the amount of AMERICAN disrespect they receive, particularly given how hugely successful they have been.

And when I read stories about them on yahoo sports, I've learned to QUICKLY navigate away from the page before i get to the comments section.

[Mansa]

03:25 PM on 05/13/2012

Serena the best female tennis player in the world--when she feels like it.

[Bados]

02:43 AM on 05/14/2012

You nor I have ever seen her not try. When everything is clicking she's the best.

[denise4925]

12:26 PM on 05/14/2012

That's makes her even better that she can do it when she feels like it.

[Tara Thomas]

03:20 PM on 05/13/2012

Well done Serena, superb!!!

[Olympian2012]

02:56 PM on 05/13/2012

Azarenka seems like she's loosing the momentum she had early in the year. I hope she finds her form again. It's been 24 years since a woman won the "grand slam" (all 4 majors in one year) and she won the Australian Open in January, so she's the one who can get the grand slam for 2012. She's a good clay court player, so she'll have a good chance in France in a few weeks, but when she gets to Wimbledon in June, it's going to be a lot harder with Serena, and Kvitova playing.

Also with the Olympics in London this summer, if azarenka were to win that as well as all four majors this year, that would be known as the "golden slam", which was last won by the one and only Steffi Graf. Long live the tennis queen!

[dchotrod69]

05:29 PM on 05/13/2012

There is little chance of either a grand or golden slam this year. I don't see anyone beating Serena at Wimbledon if she is healthy and injury-free.

This is the second post of yours I've commented on. I promise I'm not stalking you...lol :-)

[Olympian2012]

06:00 PM on 05/13/2012

True, but back in January, Azarenka looked unbeatable. Now she's back to her old ways with frustrating matches and losing her temper again. I think the best chance we had at seeing another grand slam in recent years was in 2002-03 when Serena charged through with 4 straight major wins. In '02 she won French, W, and US, but not Australia. However, her winning streak from '02-'03 is known as the "Serena Slam." :)

Oh, that's ok. I'm actually glad to have someone comment on my posts relating to tennis. It's not easy finding people that are interested in this sport, so your comments are very welcome.

[MoeB]

02:25 PM on 05/14/2012

Actually, Azarenka looked pretty good UNTIL she played Serena...minus the loss she had to Sharapova, which is understandable since Maria is looking more like her old self.

The problem Vika had the other day was the reality that Serena is looking better on CLAY than I think I've ever seen her on that surface. That could spell trouble for the French Open field in a few weeks.

[morrisar]

02:34 PM on 05/13/2012

Congrats to Serena! Well done, wishing you continued success...

[Goldie Treasure]

01:54 PM on 05/13/2012

Well done Serena!! You and your sister are awesome.