Friday, 11 April, 2008

Serena Williams captured her fifth Sony Ericsson Open championship on Saturday after breaking her racket in a second-set tantrum.

The eighth-seeded American won the hardcourt event for the second straight year with a 6-1 5-7 6-3 win over fourth seed Jelena Jankovic.

Williams, who also claimed three consecutive titles here from 2002-04, joins tennis great Steffi Graf as the only players to win five championships in Miami.

It was the 30th title of Williams' career and the second this season for the former number one.

"I feel like all I want to do is play tennis, be the best and win," Williams said. "My whole life is dedicated to nothing but tennis. I've been working really hard."

Williams dominated early on and was serving for the match at 5-4 in the second set but Jankovic extended the match by reeling off three straight games.

After opening up a 5-0 lead in the third set, Williams began to struggle again - squandering three match points on serve at 5-2.

The 26-year-old shattered her racket by angrily slamming it on the court when Jankovic broke to make it 5-3.

"I was definitely up and on my way to glory within an hour, but I started making a lot of mistakes, and Jelena obviously started playing better, too," Williams said. "Players who have nothing to lose are the most dangerous people in life on the court."

Williams finally put the match away by breaking Jankovic in the ensuing game.

Argentina and Sweden all square
Spain on top against Germany
Stepanek cruises past Andreev
Murray out of Valencia with virus
Sharapova battles through to last eight
Venus withdraws from Charleston
Change to Wimbledon warm-up events
Murray confirms Beijing presence
Nadal hails 'unbelievable' Davydenko
Williams claims another Miami title