Sport
Serena Williams dominates Maria Sharapova to win the Australian Open
A dominant Serena Williams won her sixth Australian Open and 19th career Grand Slam with a hard-fought win over bitter rival Maria Sharapova on Saturday, consolidating her place among the game’s legends.
The 6-3, 7-6 (7/5) triumph means the American world number one overtakes 18-time major champions Martina Navratilova and Chris Evert to go clear second on the all-time Open-era Grand Slam winners’ list.
“Standing here with 19 championships is something I never thought would happen, I went on the courts with just a ball and a racket and hope and that’s all I had,” said Williams, at 33 the oldest woman to win the Melbourne title.
She revealed her focus had already turned to claiming another Slam, telling reporters: “I want to win Roland Garros (French Open).”
“I’m just so excited to have this title,” she added, revealing that she had been “throwing up” when she went off court during a rain delay in the first set.
Williams has been battling a cold all tournament and was coughing during the match.
The first Australian final in a decade to feature the tournament’s top two seeds was a one-sided affair in the opening set, although Sharapova rallied to make a contest of it in the second, saving two championship points before falling to a third.
The victory extends Williams’ decade-long winning streak over the Russian to 16 matches, with the second seed hailing her arch-rival’s “incredible achievement” but insisting she was closing the gap.
