Serena wins her first Olympic gold, completes ‘Golden Slam’

KARACHI: Fourth seeded Serena Williams secured her first Olympic gold medal in women’s single with a win over Russian star Maria Sharapova at the All England Lawn Tennis Club in Wimbledon.

Winning Olympic gold medal in addition to all four Slams, Williams became the second woman to win a career ‘Golden Grand Slam’ after Steffi Graf.

In a press conference after the match Williams said, “I was so focused here. I was serving and I was thinking - 'Serena, this is your best chance to win a gold medal. You're at Wimbledon; you play great on grass, pull it together, just win this.”

“It’s a different feeling, as long as you can get a medal at the Olympics, you are going to have it for the rest of your life,” she added.

The world number two Sharapova also played to the best of her talent but couldn’t withstand the powerful game by 14-time Grand Slam title bearer.
“She’s playing incredibly confident tennis. After winning Wimbledon, you’ve seen her level progress so much over this tournament,” the world number two said.

Talking about the match Sharapova said, “She wasn’t making many mistakes, not giving me many opportunities. She served extremely well, found the spots all around. She stays low, hits the ball hard. She’s an extremely powerful player.”