Five years ago, the final at the Premier Mandatory event came down to two of the biggest names in tennis: Serena Williams and Maria Sharapova.
At the 2012 French Open, Serena Williams lost in the opening round of a Grand Slam for the first time in her career. After that result, it seemed as if she would never drop a match again: The American, who had been battling health issues for the past couple of seasons, won her next two Grand Slams, the Olympic gold medal and the WTA championships.
Entering 2013, she captured her first title of the year in Brisbane, then had her winning streak snapped at the Australian Open. At her next tournament in Dubai, Williams reached the final, completing her journey back to the top of the rankings along the way.
When the tour hit Miami, Williams—a five-time champion there, but not since 2008—was the top seed, and reached the final there for the first time since 2009 with the loss of only one set. Meanwhile, on the other side of the draw, four-time Miami finalist Maria Sharapova—fresh off winning the title in Indian Wells—advanced to her third South Beach championship match in a row to set up a dream final between two of the sport’s biggest names.
Going into the match, getting off to a quick start was crucial for world No. 3 Sharapova, who last beat Williams back in 2004. They stayed on serve through the first few games, with Sharapova pushing the world No. 1 to the brink in the third one. The pair exchanged breaks in the fifth and sixth games, but in the ninth one, Sharapova broke, then served out the set.
Early in the second set, it appeared that Sharapova’s quest to complete the “Sunshine Double,” and gain an elusive win over Williams was on course as she went up 3-2. If there’s one thing, though, that Williams has shown throughout her career—most recently in her fourth-round match against Dominika Cibulkova—is that you can never count her out.
The five-time Miami Open champion began her rally by breaking Sharapova in the eighth game to take a 5-3 lead and then held her own serve to force a decider. Williams’ strong play reaped dividends immediately as she broke Sharapova’s serve in the first and third games to go up 3-0. Up two breaks, Williams picked up a third one toward the end. The American won 10 games on the trot to complete the last set 6-0 and pick up her record sixth Miami Open title.
5
Sharapova became the first WTA player to make five finals in Miami without winning the title.
6
Williams’ title-winning run made it the first time she was victorious at a tournament six times in her career.
2008
Prior to this final, the last time Sharapova won a set against Williams was in 2008. Williams won the six matches between that Charleston quarterfinal and this final in straight sets.
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