Serena Williams wins record sixth Sony Open!

Serena Williams is never going to win as many grand slam titles as Steffi Graf (22) or as many French Opens (6) or probably even Wimbledons (7) or be number one as long (377 weeks) or win as many overall tournaments (107).

But there is one area where Serena surpassed the great Graf this week: She won a record sixth Sony Open (Steffi had won five) and also broke Steffi’s record for most matches won at the tournament which ranks just behind the four grand slams in prestige.

“I felt good today,” Serena told the crowd after the match. ”It’s so good to be No. 6 now – I mean, the six-time – oh, gosh. Thank you.”

To win, the number one ranked Serena, 31, beat third-ranked Maria Sharapova 4-6, 6-3, 6-0. It was Sharapova’s fifth loss in the final at the Sony, one of the few major tournaments she has not managed to win.

Sharapova, the reigning French Open champion, has not been able to beat Serena since 2004, the year she beat her in the Wimbledon final and in the finals of the WTA Championships.

“I think today I certainly played a lot better,” Sharapova said after the match. “I had my chances. It was a step in the right direction, and there’s no doubt that we’ll be playing many more times.”

Serena injured herself at the Australian Open and lost in the quarterfinals. But she is the reigning Wimbledon, US Open and Olympic champion.