Serena Williams beats Maria Sharapova in straight sets to reach Wimbledon finals

Williams shakes hands following her victory over Sharapova at the Wimbledon semi-finals

World No. 1 Serena Williams cruised to an easy victory over former title holder Maria Sharapova, with the American winning 6-2, 6-4. It was the 17th consecutive victory by Williams over the Russian, continuing a remarkable run of dominance against the five-time Slam champion.

Sharapova’s game was plagued by unforced errors. The Russian committed three double faults in the very first game of the match. Williams on her part was dominant on serve, serving several aces against her Russian rival, who was visibly agitated about her less-than-stellar game. The match was a quick affair, concluding in 90 minutes.

The American served 7 aces in the first set against Sharapova’s one, with the latter committing another 3 double-faults in the second set. Although Williams committed twice the number of unforced errors than her opponent, she maintained continuous pressure on the Russian. She took the first set in almost clinical fashion, winning that 6-2.

A beleaguered Sharapova looked weak going into the second set and was two games down as she fought her way back against a dominant Williams. The Russian committed 6 double faults in the match, with one of them coming on break point down at 2-2 in the second set.

Williams opened with an ace in the final game of the match, catching Sharapova unawares, and followed that up with three more to wrap up the game. She has now won 17 of their 19 meetings.

Williams is positive going into her final match against Garbine Muguruza of Spain, who has beat her at the 2014 French Open. Although Williams has beaten the Spaniard in two of their three meetings, both of these were on hard surfaces. This will be the first head-to-head on grass between the two.

Following her victory against Sharapova, Williams said she “looked forward” to meeting Muguruza, and that it would “be a good game”. She plays the 21-year-old in the finals at the Championships this Saturday.