I was helpless against Serena: Sharapova

Russian disappointed after humbling loss in singles final.

LONDON: Maria Sharapova insists she was powerless to prevent the most one-sided women’s final in Olympic history as the Russian’s gold medal dreams were crushed by Serena Williams.

Sharapova was on the receiving end of a masterclass on Wimbledon’s Centre Court and the world number three, beaten 6-0, 6-1 in just 63 minutes, is convinced, that with Serena in such dominant form, she would have lost no matter how she played.

It was a humbling experience for Sharapova, who said, “Look, she’s playing incredibly confident tennis. After winning Wimbledon, you’ve seen her level progress so much over this tournament.

“With every match she’s played, she’s playing better. Even against the wind, her shots were very powerful.

“She wasn’t making many mistakes, not giving me many opportunities. She was just too quick and too powerful.”

Although frustrared to miss out on a first gold medal, Sharapova was still pleased to leave London with silver in her debut Games.

“It means a lot. This is probably one of the toughest events, playing six matches in the span of eight days.”

Published in The Express Tribune, August 6^th, 2012.