Serena Williams won her 19th Grand Slam title, continued her unbeaten run in six Australian Open finals and extended her decade-long domination of Maria Sharapova with a 6-3, 7-6 (5) victory despite a hacking cough on Saturday night.
“I’m so honored to be here tonight and to hold this 19th trophy (at) my favorite stadium,” Williams said.
The 33-year-old Williams became the oldest winner of the Australian women’s title in the Open era and moved into outright second place on the list of major winners in the Open era, behind only Steffi Graf’s 22.
Williams now has won 16 in a row and is 17-2 in career matches against Sharapova, who hasn’t won a head-to-head meeting since 2004.
Two of Williams’ six Australian titles have come with straight-set wins in the final against Sharapova, the first in 2007. While the American has a 100 percent record at Melbourne Park, Sharapova dropped to 1-3 in Australian Open finals — her only victory coming in 2008.
“I haven’t beaten her in a long time but I love every time I step on the court with her,” said Sharapova, who had to save two match points in the second round. “I’ve had some of the best memories of my career on this court and also some of my toughest losses, but that’s the life of a tennis player.”
