Serena Williams addressed the crowd at Roland Garros in French after defeating Maria Sharapova in the final of the 2013 French Open.

Williams downed defending champion Maria Sharapova 6-4, 6-4 to lift the Suzanne Lenglen Cup for the second time in her career. She won the claycourt Major in 2002 for the first time. This was her 16th triumph at the Majors overall.

Notably, this was the 16th time Williams and Sharapova faced off on the court. The American defeated Sharapovs for the 14th time on the occasion. Upon receiving the trophy from former tennis player Arantxa Sánchez Vicario, Williams was offered the mic to address the spectators present at the Stade Roland Garros. The former World No. 1 proceeded to speak in French.

At one moment during her speech, Williams tried to catch her mother Oracene Price’s attention. Price, however, did not register what her daughter was saying, and her reaction invoked laughter from the crowd. The 23-time Grand Slam champion further thanked her team and the crowd for their support.

Apart from English and French, Serena Williams is fluent in Italian, German, and Mandarin.

Serena Williams boasts of a dominant head-to-head record of 20-2 against five-time Grand Slam champion Maria Sharapova. Their rivalry dates back to the year 2004.

Williams faced Sharapova for the first time in 2004 at the Miami Open and clinched a 6-4, 6-3 victory quite comfortably. The duo met two more times that year at the Wimbledon Championships and year-end Championships. On both occasions, the Russian downed the American to win in the final.

Williams, however, never allowed Sharapova to win another duel again. The duo played against each other 17 more times, with the 23-time singles Grand Slam champion emerging victorious every single time.

At Grand Slam events, the duo squared off nine times with Williams securing eight victories. She defeated Maria Sharapova in the semifinal and final of the Australian Open in 2005 and 2007, respectively.

Both players met at the Happy Slam two more times in 2015 (final) and 2016 (quarterfinal). Williams won both encounters in straight sets. At the Championships, they locked horns in 2010 and 2015.

Their rivalry concluded at the 2019 US Open, where Williams trounced Sharapova 6-1, 6-1. The Russian retired months after the New York Major in February 2020, whereas Serena Williams remained active till September 2022.