Serena Williams still No. 1 with milestone win in Madrid Open

Serena Williams retained her No. 1 ranking in the world on Sunday when she defeated second-ranked Maria Sharapova in straight sets to win the Madrid Open.

Williams claimed the 50th tournament title in her illustrious career with the 6-1, 6-4 victory. She then stated the obvious, followed by seeming nonsense.

“It feels good,” Williams said of reaching the milestone. “I don’t know how many more I can win. Who knows if I will ever win another title?”

Maybe she was exhausted -- or just being humble.

“When you first start out everything is so exciting,” Williams said after capturing her first title on clay since 2002. “Now I expect to win.

“I just want to live the dream. Hopefully I can keep it going.”

OK, that’s much better, especially considering Williams improved her record to 13-2 over the second-ranked player in the world.

“I started the match really slow and against an opponent like [Williams] you can’t give her that,” said Sharapova. “I wasn’t reacting well. I wasn’t moving well. Not only the double faults I made, I didn’t have a lot of great first serves in. She was really stepping up.”

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