Serena Williams defeated defending championMaria Sharapova in the final, 6–4, 6–4 to win the women's singles tennis title at the2013 French Open. It was her secondFrench Open singles title, 16thmajor singles title overall, and she completed thedouble career Grand Slam in singles with the win.[1][2] Williams was the oldest woman to win the French Open (a record she later surpassed in2015) and set a record for the longest gap between successive French Open titles (her last being in2002).[3][4] With the win, Williams extended her winning streak to 31 matches (dating back to theMiami Open), going undefeated for the 2013clay court season.[4]
The final marked the first time the top two seeds contested the French Open final since1995, and the first time overall at a major since the2004 Australian Open.
Since winning the French Open in 2002,Serena Williams had not advanced to the final of the event, last semifinal was in 2003 (lost toHenin). In 2008, she was the only former champion left in the draw, she lost toKatarina Srebotnik in the third round. In 2012, she lost in the first round toVirginie Razzano, a player ranked in the 100s. In 2013, however, she made quick work of her opponents advancing to the finals with an average match length of less than one hour and fifteen minutes.[5] She had problems in just one match, in quarterfinals againstSvetlana Kuznetsova, when she was down 2–0 and break points in third set. However, she won six of last seven games to close out the match.
After reaching quarterfinals without dropping set, Sharapova needed two three-setters to reach final. First, she met 18th seedJelena Janković and dropped the first set 6–0. In that set Sharapova committed 20 errors to just two from Jankovic. However, Jankovic lost her opening service game in the second set, which looked to be key for Sharapova as she could cool down after a horrible first set. In the semifinal she faced third seedVictoria Azarenka. Sharapova won the first set convincingly, but lost the second in the same fashion. But she eventually eased to a 5–2 lead in the final set and finished the match two games later to reach her second French Open final.
First seeded Williams faced off against second seededMaria Sharapova in the women's singles final. Williams came out aggressive, charging the net on the first point. Her aggression set up a triple break-point, but Sharapova fought back and held serve. She then broke Williams for a 2–0 lead. Williams broke back in the next game, then broke Sharapova twice more for a 6–4 first set. In the second set, Sharapova fought off five break points to hold in her opening serve.[5] After Williams held serve, Sharapova dropped a break with two consecutive errors in the fourth game.[1] From there, Williams went on to take a 5–4 lead with her serve coming up. She finished off the match with her tenth ace of the day. "She's always had a big serve," said Sharapova. "I think her second serve is better than it was in the past."[5]
For Williams, it was her 31st consecutive victory, a career best. She has beaten Sharapova 13 times in a row. When asked by a reporter if she still wanted to retire at her peak, Williams replied "That's my goal, but have I peaked yet?"[5] Commentary by Simon Briggs published byThe Daily Telegraph described Williams' performance as "almost flawless".[1] "Sharapova actually played a fine match," said Briggs. "But it is so difficult to attack an in-form Williams because she can shut you down with the quality of her serve."[1]
By winning the 1 hour 46 minute match, Williams completed her second careerGrand Slam.[5] It was her 16th major title overall, moving her within six ofSteffi Graf's modern era record of 22 such wins, and within eight ofMargaret Court's all-time record.[1] She also became the oldest women ever to win the French Open.[1]
Serena Williams
Maria Sharapova
Victoria Azarenka(semifinals)
Agnieszka Radwańska(quarterfinals)
Sara Errani(semifinals)
Li Na(second round)
Petra Kvitová(third round)
Angelique Kerber(fourth round)
Samantha Stosur(third round)
Caroline Wozniacki(second round)
Marion Bartoli(third round)
Ana Ivanovic(fourth round)
Dominika Cibulková(second round)
Carla Suárez Navarro(fourth round)
Kirsten Flipkens(second round)
Sorana Cîrstea(third round)
Yaroslava Shvedova(second round)
Tamira Paszek(first round)
A Tatishvili
Y Beygelzimer
J Larsson
K Bertens
L Robson
M Lučić-Baroni
R Oprandi
S Pe'er
M Minella
C Scheepers
M Puig
M Doi
P Ormaechea
K Kanepi
M Duque
M Czink
MJ Koehler
M Erakovic
E Bouchard
T Pironkova
S-w Hsieh