defeated defending champion Maria Sharapova, 6-4, 6-4, to win the Women's Singles tennistitle at the 2013 French Open. Williams' victory in the final earned her a multiple slam set in Women's Singles, her 16th Grand Slam singles title, her second French Open title since her triumph in 2002. She also became the oldest woman to win the French Open and set a record for the longest gap between French Open titles. With her victory, Williams expanded her season winning streak to 31 matches dating back to the Miami Open. Williams only dropped one set the entire tournament, to Svetlana Kuznetsova in the quarterfinals. The 2013 French Open final was the first time at any Grand Slam event since the 2004 Australian Open that the top two seeded players had played each other in the final. It was the first French Open since 1995 that the top two seeded players played each other in the final.
Since winning the French Open in 2002, Serena Williams had not advanced to the final of the event, last semifinal was in 2003. In 2008, she was the only former champion left in the draw, she lost to Katarina Srebotnik in the third round. In 2012, she lost in the first round to Virginie Razzano, a player ranked in the 100s. In 2013, however, she made quick work of her opponents advancing to the finals with an average match length of less than one hour and fifteen minutes. She had problems in just one match, in quarterfinals against Svetlana Kuznetsova, when she was down 2–0 and break points in third set. However, she won six of last seven games to close out the match. After reaching quarterfinals without dropping set, Sharapova needed two three-setters to reach final. First, she met 18th seed Jelena Jankovic and dropped first set 6–0. In that set Sharapova committed 20 errors to just two from Jankovic. However, Jankovic lost opening service game in second set, which looked to be key for Sharapova as she could cool down after horrible first set. In semifinal she faced third seed Victoria Azarenka. Sharapova won first set convincingly, but lost second in the same fashion. But she eased to 5–2 lead in final set and finished match two games later to reach second French Open final.
Final
First seeded Williams faced off against second seeded Maria Sharapova in the women's singles final. Williams came out aggressive, charging the net on the first point. Her aggression set up a triple break-point, but Sharapova fought back and held serve. She then broke Williams for a 2–0 lead. Williams broke back in the next game, then broke Sharapova twice more for a 6–4 first set. In the second set, Sharapova fought off five break points to hold in her opening serve. After Williams held serve, Sharapova dropped a break with two consecutive errors in the fourth game. From there, Williams went on to take a 5–4 lead with her serve coming up. She finished off the match with her tenth ace of the day. "She's always had a big serve," said Sharapova. "I think her second serve is better than it was in the past." For Williams, it was her 31st consecutive victory, a career best. She has beaten Sharapova 13 times in a row. When asked by a reporter if she still wanted to retire at her peak, Williams replied "That's my goal, but have I peaked yet?" Commentary by Simon Briggs published by The Daily Telegraph described Williams' performance as "almost flawless". "Sharapova actually played a fine match," said Briggs. "But it is so difficult to attack an in-form Williams because she can shut you down with the quality of her serve." By winning the 1 hour 46 minute match, Williams completed her second career Grand Slam. It was her 16th major title overall, moving her within six of Steffi Graf's modern erarecord of 22 such wins, and within eight of Margaret Court's all-time record. She also became the oldest women ever to win the French Open.
