Serena Williams stormed her way to an Olympic gold medal on August 2, 2012. She dominated the final against Maria Sharapova of Russia. It was the first individual gold medal for Williams, who has twice won in Olympic doubles.

Williams won the first set, 6-0, in only 30 minutes. She hit only a handful of unforced errors in each set and feasted on Sharapova’s second serve. She won the second set by 6-1, with the entire match taking only a bit more than an hour to complete.

Williams’ march to the podium in London, England seemed to be at risk of a possible delay when Sharapova manufactured a breakpoint against Williams, thanks in part to a double-fault. But Williams found another level of focus, hitting angled shots with such force that Sharapova had no chance to return them.

Video replays gave Sharapova no help either, as a crucial shot by Williams was shown to have ticked the chalk. Looking up at the replay screen from the grass on Wimbledon’s Centre Court, Sharapova’s face seemed to be drained of hope as the ball was confirmed to have landed inside the line.

Down 5-1 in the second set, Sharapova showed a further refusal to submit to what by then seemed inevitable, nailing a long-baseline down the line for a winner. But even when she engaged Williams in a long, scrambling point, Williams found a way to fire the ball well past her reach.

And then, with Williams serving at 5-1 in the second set and up 30-15, she ripped a second serve straight down the center line for an ace, with Sharapova helpless to reach the ball. One point later, it was curtains, and Williams was shrieking in joy, jumping up and down, waving to the crowd, and even dancing a bit.

Sharapova often took time to compose herself between points, seemingly frustrated by her inability to make a dent in Williams’ game. By contrast, Williams maintained a calm and focused look, only occasionally letting out a yell to hint at how her emotions were building as she neared one of the few remaining landmarks she hadn’t yet reached in a storied career.

After the match, Williams seemed at a loss for words to describe her feat, which she accomplished by losing only 17 games throughout the Olympic tournament. She gave Sharapova credit for fighting hard in the match.

“I don’t feel invincible. I just feel good about my game. I just practiced so hard, and it was time,” Willaims said after her victory.

Source: Bill Chappell for National Public Radio via NPR.org