Australian Open 2015: Day 13 Results, Highlights and Scores Recap from Melbourne
With the 2015 Australian Open nearing its conclusion, Day 13 featured title matches across several different competitions, but the most notable was undoubtedly the final clash in women's singles between No. 1 Serena Williams and No. 2 Maria Sharapova.
Serena and Sharapova were on a collision course throughout the tournament, and they finally met in what turned out to be an entertaining affair. In addition to that, champions were also crowned in men's doubles as well as the juniors and wheelchair divisions.
In the wake of an exciting day of matches at Melbourne Park, here is a rundown of notable results and top storylines emanating from the Aussie Open.
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Day 13 Australian Open Results
| Women's Singles Final | Serena Williams | Maria Sharapova | 6-3, 7-6 |
| Men's Doubles Final | Simone Bolelli & Fabio Fognini | Pierre Hugues-Herbert & Nicolas Mahut | 6-4, 6-4 |
Top Day 13 Storylines
Serena Williams Wins 19th Grand Slam Title
Williams has owned Sharapova over the past decade, but with her Russian counterpart playing fantastic tennis, Serena likely knew that the final wouldn't be a walk in the park. It wasn't, but the American superstar was able to pull off a 6-3, 7-6(5) victory in straight sets.
Serena is now a 19-time Grand Slam champion, which moves her into a tie for third on the all-time list with Helen Wills Moody, according to SportsCenter on Twitter:
Williams was previously tied with Chris Evert and Martina Navratilova, but she bypassed both legends on Day 13 at the Australian Open. Even though they are both in Serena's rearview mirror at this point, she fully realizes the importance of being in the same class, per the Australian Open on Twitter:
Although she has been dominant in recent years, Serena has reached an age when most players are slowing down and thinking about retirement. Williams is playing better than ever before at 33, though, despite being the oldest Australian Open champion of the Open Era, according to SportsCenter:
Her victory over Sharapova was impressive for several reasons, including the fact that she battled through an illness over the entire course of the tournament.
In fact, she even had to remove herself from the court at one point during the final, per the Australian Open's official Twitter account:
She was far from 100 percent from a health perspective, but that didn't stop Serena from becoming a six-time Aussie Open champ.
Now that No. 19 is in the bag, Williams' focus will shift toward seizing sole possession of third place on the all-time Grand Slam list with 20. Steffi Graf's 22 titles are within reach after that, and even though it may seem unlikely, Margaret Court and her 24 titles may not even be safe at No. 1.
Maria Sharapova Falls Just Short
Perhaps no player in women's tennis can equal Sharapova in terms of fight, grittiness and determination, and while she displayed all three traits in spades during the Australian Open final, they still weren't enough to overcome the world's best player.
Sharapova fell to Williams once again, marking her 16th straight loss to her chief nemesis, according to WTATennis.com. Sharapova is undoubtedly one of the all-time greats, with five Grand Slam titles to her credit, but that number could be much higher if not for the fact that she is living in Serena's world.
Despite that, Sharapova welcomes the challenge of going up against the world's No. 1 women's player, per the Australian Open on Twitter:
One can only assume that the inability to beat Williams is starting to get old for Sharapova, but she continues to remain positive even as she struggles to take down Serena, according to SI Tennis:
Although Sharapova wasn't even able to push her Day 13 match against Williams to a third and decisive set, she still essentially pushed her opponent to the brink. As pointed out by ESPN's Bomani Jones, the fact that she was able to force a second-set tiebreak was significant:
Truth be told, Sharapova emptied the tank and did everything she could to win. Even so, it wasn't nearly enough to take down Williams, per ESPN.com's Howard Bryant:
While Sharapova will have some time to think about what went wrong, she isn't likely to sulk. She is as resilient as they come, so the focus now shifts toward the French Open.
Against all odds, Sharapova has become the best clay-court player in women's tennis, as evidenced by her two French Open titles over the past three years.
Sharapova may very well enter that tournament as the favorite over Serena, and perhaps she may even be able to finally beat her rival if they meet on that surface.
Bolelli and Fognini Triumph in Doubles
While much of the focus on Day 13 at the Australian Open was on Williams making history, a historic moment also occurred in the men's doubles final.
The duo of Simone Bolelli and Fabio Fognini took down Pierre-Hugues Herbert and Nicolas Mahut of France 6-4, 6-4 to win their first Grand Slam title as a duo.
In fact, Bolelli and Fognini became the first all-Italian team to win a Grand Slam title in the Open Era, according to the Australian Open on Twitter:
Fognini is best known as a volatile singles player who has flirted with breaking into the top 10. Up until the 2015 Aussie Open, his doubles success was negligible. Bolelli has never been viewed as a top doubles player in his own right, but they combined to do something special in Melbourne.
Having made it to at least the semifinals at all four Grand Slams in doubles, Mahut is somewhat of a doubles expert. He has yet to win a men's doubles title at a Grand Slam, though, and it is starting to look as though the 33-year-old Frenchman is snake-bitten.
Bolelli and Fognini are atop the doubles world for now, and it will be interesting to see if they are a one-hit wonder or if they can keep it going moving forward.
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