The next four matches decided who would get the gold, silver, bronze and absolutely nothing (well an Olympic diploma of course, but these ladies come for just one thing!)
The first semifinal featured two Russian Maria's for a place in the final. I'm wondering if the many fans of Sharapova realized they were cheering for her opponent as well by shouting: come on, Maria! I also had forgotten how loud Kirilenko can be too!
But the two Russians are still very different from each other. Sharapova set the tone from the beginning and Kirilenko was brushed off in two sets: 6-2, 6-3.
I didn't expect Azarenka and Serena's match would to be one sided as well! But it was clear early on, it wasn't a question of: would Azarenka win a set but if she could win a game! The number one didn't know what was happening to her when Serena got a lead twice of 4-0. Azarenka didn't get the chance to display her best game, only when facing match balls the Belarussian could make some excellent points! Serena through in two sets: 6-1, 6-2.
Is it me or does reaching the final, makes you look a little drunk on the photos?!
So the bronze medal game had to be played between Azarenka and Kirilenko. The first set went to 3-3 before Azarenka won 6 games in a row! Kirilenko was quite desperate when facing 0-3 in the second set and the crowd totally sided with the Russian. The cheering and the new found hope, brought the second set back to 3-3. You noticed Azarenka's game getting tight but the tears of joy finally appeared when the 6-3, 6-4 got on the scoreboard. Bronze for Azarenka!
But everyone was waiting for the golden medal match between Sharapova and Serena! The American raced to a 3-0 lead in the first set in no time. Is nobody able to stop Serena's fabulous play as if from another planet? The wind made it extremely difficult for the Russian to get a game and Serena was ruthless: 6-0!
The crowd wanted to see a much tighter match and started cheering extra hard for Sharapova but the Russian kept making too many mistakes. At 3-0 she could finally take a game to bring the score at 3-1, the crowd went ballistic! From that point on, Sharapova put more pressure on the Serena serve but the American just upped her game even more. The gold is for her with an epic win of: 6-0, 6-1. Sharapova goes home with the silver.
Holy crap, that means my prediction was right for a change! Big applause for me and of course for all the tennisplayers of this Olympic Games. There was no stopping Serena, she lost just 17 games in 6 rounds (of which 5 against the younger Radwanska, the most in one match she lost). She had more trouble with her massive hair than her opponents!
Keep posted for the photos with their medals and the (mixed) doubles results!
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