Serena Williams beats Maria Sharapova, wins her first Olympics gold in singles

Nobody can enjoy winning more than Serena Williams. She thrashed Russian opponent Maria Sharapova in the women’s singles final on Saturday. The 30-year-old jumped up and down right in the middle of the Tennis court as she celebrated becoming only the second female Golden Grand Slam winner (singles players) in history after Steffi Graf did it in 1988.

Having previously won gold in doubles in Sydney in 2000 and then again in Beijing in 2008, Williams previously said winning gold in the Olympics wouldn’t matter much because she had already won it before. However, as the crowd saw the champ screaming and dancing all over the place, her moves told a different story.

“It’s a big moment,” Williams said. “This compares right up there. I’ve always wanted to win a gold medal, secretly. I always said it doesn’t matter because I already have a gold medal, and I really felt that, but deep, deep, deep, deep down, I wanted it in singles, as well. And I got it! It’s an amazing feeling. I have them all now!”

Williams took the charge from the very start, racing to a 5-0 lead in the first 20 minutes. At one point, she had more aces than Sharapova had points.

Williams brutally defeated Sharapova in what appeared to be a never-ending series of bullets-like strokes. Sharapova, who had been beaten eight straight times by Williams since 2004, could not turn away from her embarrassing defeat.

“Serena played some incredible tennis, with the form she was in during Wimbledon and afterwards,” said the Russian. “So much power on her shots today, even against the wind. With every match she has played she has played great, she has improved and become better, and that showed today.”

Even the crazy winds couldn’t come between Williams and her gold, and as the American flag blew off the pole and fluttered toward the court, the Tennis champ took no offense.

“It [the flag] was probably flying to come hug me because the flag was so happy, it didn’t quite make it but almost. It was fluttering towards me trying to wrap its fabric around me,” Williams said, according to a report by Telegraph.

Serena Williams has now won 17 straight and 34 of her last 35 matches. Her latest medal carries more meaning to her given the number of injuries and a prolonged illness during the last couple of years.