Top seed Serena Williams continued her dominance over second seed Maria Sharapova to comfortably win her sixth Australian Open title on Saturday
Serena Williams wins sixth Australian Open title
Melbourne: Top seed Serena Williams continued her dominance over second seed Maria Sharapova to comfortably win her sixth Australian Open title on Saturday.
Serena's 6-3, 7-6 straight sets win over Sharapova took her overall tally to 19, surpassing Martina Navratilova and Chris Evert as she chases Steffi Graf's Open-era record of 22.
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Williams, who at 33 was the oldest woman to contest an Open-era final in Australia, was contesting her 23rd Slam final.
When the final started the American had a decade-long, 15-0 winning streak against the Russian, which she extended to 16.
Serena Williams in action during her women's singles final match against Maria Sharapova on day thirteen of the 2015 Australian Open tournament in Melbourne on Saturday. Pic/AFP
The final pitted the world's two best players, both in sizzling form, against one another in a dream Grand Slam decider, although the second seeded Sharapova's staggering inability to notch a win over Williams since 2004 put a lot of pressure on her.
Earlier, Serena Williams easily won the first set 6-3.
Sharapova was chasing her second Australian title and sixth Grand Slam crown, but it was not to be.
Maria Sharapova in action during her women's singles final match against Serena Williams on day thirteen of the 2015 Australian Open tournament in Melbourne on Saturday. Pic/AFP
Sharapova, 27, had demolished fellow Russian Ekaterina Makarova 6-3, 6-2 to make the ninth major final of her career.
Top seed Williams, meanwhile, had outgunned fellow American Madison Keys in a semi-final slugfest. The younger of the Williams sisters had downed the unseeded Keys 7-6 (7/5), 6-2 after the gallant 19-year-old saved eight match points.