Williams won his 19th Grand Slam title after beating Maria Sharapova in straight sets.
There was no upset on Saturday, as the top seeded Serena Williams took home her 19th Grand Slam title after defeating Maria Sharapova in straight sets, 6-3, 7-6 (7-5). This is Williams' sixth Australian Open crown, the most in the open era, having previously won it in 2003, 2005, 2007, 2009, 2010 and now 2015.
As always, Williams played focused and sharp against Sharapova despite battling a cold. It's been 10 years since the Russian star has beaten Williams, who used her serve to dominate the game. Not only did Williams log 18 aces but she also won 84 percent of first serve points to Sharapova's 67 percent. Williams was the aggressor throughout, going to the net and gambling on winners while Sharapova played more conservatively.
The first set started out close, with neither player creating separation. After a rain delay Williams came back strong and closed it 6-3, breaking Sharapova's serve three times in total. With the history between the two and Williams' record of dominance after winning the first set in major tournaments, it seemed a lopsided victory was coming. Instead, Sharapova rallied. She cut down her unforced errors while taking more chances and saved two match points to force the tiebreak.
In the end, there was no comeback. Williams' serve continued to be too powerful a weapon for Sharapova to counter. Fittingly, an ace closed the game.
Williams became the oldest winner of the Australian Open at 33 years old and with 19 Grand Slam titles now trails only Steffi Graff (22) and Margaret Court (24) for most major tournament crowns.
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