Paris: Serena Williams won her second French Open title on Saturday, 11 years after her first triumph, defeating title-holder Maria Sharapova 6-4, 6-4 in a brief, but high-quality final. It was the 31-year-old Americans 16th Grand Slam title win, taking her to within two of Chris Evert and Martina Navratilova who are tied for fourth on the all-time list.

And it underscored her near total domination of the womens game, having won three of the last four Grand Slam titles  at Wimbledon, the US and French Opens  and reaching the quarter-finals at the Australian Open.

For Sharapova it was a 10th straight loss to her American nemesis dating back to 2004 when she defeated her in the Wimbledon final and the WTA Championships when she was just 17-years-old.

At 31 years, 247 days she is the oldest women in the Open Era to win the French Open title, taking over from Chris Evert who set the previous mark in 1986.