Serena Williams defeats Maria Sharapova in Wimbledon semis
LONDON – No. 1 Serena Williams tallied her 17th consecutive win over No. 4 Maria Sharapova on Thursday in the Wimbledon 2015 semifinals, winning 6–2, 6–4 to advance to her first Wimbledon final since she won the title in 2012. She'll play No. 20 Garbine Muguruza in Saturday's final, where a win would make her the reigning champion of all four majors to complete the so-called "Serena Slam."
The match-up problems that have plagued Sharapova against Serena were prevalent once again on a sunny day on Centre Court. Serena, owner of the best serve in the women's game, was ruthless with the ball in her hand. She fired down 13 aces in the 79-minute match, clubbing a total of 29 winners to Sharapova's nine.
Sharapova, playing in her first Wimbledon semifinal since 2011, never saw a break point on Serena's serve, while having to fend off nine break point chances for Serena. The American broke her three times and was on her front foot for nearly every point in the match to notch her 27th consecutive win at a major.
On Saturday Serena will face 21-year-old Muguruza, who beat her in straight sets last year at the French Open. The Spaniard is into her first Slam final after defeating 2012 finalist Agnieszka Radwanska 6-2, 3-6, 6-3 in the first semifinal match.
Serena leads their head-to-head 2-1 and won their only match this year, a 2–6, 6–2, 6–3 win in the Round of 16 at the Australian Open.
