Serena beats Venus in tough straight sets, wins Doha

Serena and Venus Williams had to battle to take the crown in Doha, and Serena did just that, as she eased through to a straight sets victory to claim the Sony Ericsson Year-Ending Championships title for the first time since 2001.

Serena cruised through the first set comfortably, while the tension began in the second set. Both players held serves until 6-6, where Venus, the defending champion lost her serve in the first point of the tiebreaker, giving Serena a head start to complete the win. The score soon came to 5-1 to Serena, but after losing a service point, Venus won both her serves and the score became 5-4. Serena managed to make an ace to give her two championship points, and after firing a forehand winner, the match belonged to the younger sister, after winning with a score of 62 76(4).

The trophy presentation had a circus-like performance, with acrobats flying in the air and pretending to hit tennis balls, while the trophy came down from the air to the ground and was presented to Serena by Her Highness Sheikha Mozah Bint Nasser Al-Missned.

"Playing Venus in the finals was tough," Serena said on court. "Even though she wasn't feeling good, she was getting every ball back. I can't tell you how frustrating that is! Playing her is never easy."

It was the second time Serena took the Sony Ericsson Championships title, having done it in 2001 as well. She has now beaten Venus four times in a row and has a 13-10 lead in their career head-to-head.

"Now my losing streak in tournaments that aren't Grand Slams is over!" added Serena, who hadn't won a non-major since Charleston in April 2008. "Coming out here and doing well is so exciting. I totally didn't expect to come here and win. My practice at home wasn't going so great, but I just kept fighting."

"I have to congratulate Serena for playing a great match today and having a great tournament," Venus said. "I'm happy with my week. I want to thank my mom, my dad and my sister Isha, who supports us non-stop."

Now the head-to-head result is 13-10 to Serena.

Sunday, November 1, 2009

Singles - Final
(2) Serena Williams (USA) d. (7) Venus Williams (USA) 62 76(4)