Madrid Open 2012: Serena Williams Picks Up Massive Victory vs. Victoria Azarenka

It was a dominating ending to the Madrid Open for Serena Williams. Her victory in the tournament final was over Victoria Azarenka of Belarus 6-1, 6-3 and also according to Roberto Hernandez of the tournament website, this was Williams' first solo win in Spain:

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This is Serena William’s first singles title at the Mutua Madrid Open. She won the doubles category in 2010 alongside her sister, Venus.

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The more important part about this victory for Williams though is the momentum she now carries heading into the French Open later this month. Serena has only won the French tournament once (2002), so it's vital to enter with confidence.

We'll dive into the upcoming tourney a little later, but first let's see why Williams was able to get the win in Madrid and how it helps for the summer of 2012.

Consistency

Entering the Madrid Open as the No. 9 seed, Williams simply crushed her opponents in the first two rounds. Match one was a 6-3, 6-1 win and the next was 6-2, 6-1 over two unseeded competitors.

Round 3 brought Williams against the No. 6 seed, Carolina Wozniacki of Denmark. Williams was humbled in the first set 1-6, but came back with two straight sets at 6-3, 6-2 to make the quarterfinals.

There, Williams wiped No. 2 seed Maria Sharapova off the court with a 6-1, 6-3 win and then a 7-6, 6-0 win over Lucie Hradecka to reach the finals. That's five rounds of smooth sailing as Williams lost just one set the entire tournament.

If we counted each set as a win, Williams just went 12-1 in 13 sets at the Madrid Open. Impressive.

Full view of Women's 2012 Madrid Open Bracket.

Confidence

Now, that kind of consistency throughout a tournament doesn't happen without confidence. Williams displayed that with every serve and double-back hand return.

For one, Williams clearly entered the Madrid Open with an attitude that she was going to send a early statement. She stampeded early on as expected and responded quite well in the face of adversity. As previously mentioned, Williams lost just one set the entire tourney and it was in the first set to Wozniacki in Round 3, 6-1.

That's a tough loss in a set for anyone to overcome, but Williams fought back by preventing Wozniacki from serving aces to get up early in games during the second and third sets.

Her confidence kept rising and it ultimately led to a tournament victory. Now, Serena has to carry this into the French Open which has been a tough venue for her the last eight years.

French Open Impact

After winning the French tournament in 2002, Williams lost in the semi-finals in 2003 but has not made it past the quarterfinals since then. Well, leading in with a victory certainly helps and for Serena to remain a top contender in the world throughout this year, a strong outing in France is needed.

In 2009 and 2010, Serena won the Australian Open and Wimbledon while taking the US Open in 2008. So, the French Open is the one major tournament that has eluded her the longest despite all of the recent success.

The clay courts certainly have an affect on power players like Serena, simply because the bounce isn't as great compared to hard or grass courts.

So, using that power to land shots near the baseline and/or along the sides to constantly remain in a favorable court position, Williams will bring home the French title.

John Rozum on Twitter.