2015 Australian Open final: Serena Williams - Maria Sharapova Live

Thank you for joining me for our live coverage of the 2015 Australian Open Women's Final at VAVEL USA, as Serena Williams captured the nineteenth major of her illustrious career with a straight sets victory over Maria Sharapova.

Serena Williams wins 6-3, 7-6 (5) to become the Australian Open Championship for a sixth time in her career but firt since 2010. With the victory Williams takes over sole position of scond spot on the all-time Grand Slam winner's list with 19 majors to her name, one better than both Chris Evert and Martina Navratilova but still three shy of Steffi Graf for top spot on the list. After failing to reach the final of any of last year's first three majors, Australia, French Open and Wimbledon, Serena has now won back-to-back Slams after taing home the US Open crown to finish off what was a rather disappointing 2014 season.

7-5: Serena ends it in style…hammering out ace No. 18. Game, Set and Match:

6-5: Outstanding serve from Sharapova keeps her alive but Williams now has the match on her racket.

6-4: Another massive forehand from Williams and with it comes a pair of Championship Points

5-4: The two trade points meaning Serena is just two points away.

4-3: A couple of unforced errors from Williams gives Sharapova life but….

4-1: This could be it. Ace No.17 followed by yet another forehand winner and Serena can taste it now.

2-1: What a response from Williams, taking both of Sharapova’s service points…the second coming courtesy of clean forehand winner of her own.

0-1: Advantage Sharapova after a clean winner

Tiebreaker: Williams will be serving first and one has to think she wants no part of this going to a third and final set

6-6: Mission accomplished and we are heading to a tiebreak after what truly was a wonderful set of tennis.

40-0: A couple of quick points followed by an ace is just what the doctor ordered for the No. 2 seed.

6-5: It was a struggle but ace No. 16 allows Williams to pull out the game Sharapova will once again be serving to stay in the match.

30-30: What a point!!! Sharapova is starting to come…can Serena hold her off?

5-5: What a brilliant couple of points from Sharapova and we remain on serve. The quality of tennis the five-time Grand Slam winner is producing with her back up against the wall is simply outstanding.

40-40: Not so fast as Sharapova uses a well-placed serve to get this one back to deuce

30-40: Sharapova just misses on a cross-court forehand and we have arrived at Championship point.

30-30: Sharapova double faults to even things at 30 apiece…could the pressure of the moment be getting to her?

5-4: Another hold at love Sharapova will be serving to stay in the match

40-0: Given the Russian No. 1 credit, she continues to push but simply cannot make any inroads on Williams serve

4-4: Sharapova holds despite a double fault and the pressure is now on Serena to hold up her end of the bargain.

40-0: Suddenly Sharapova is staring at an easy service game

15-0: Brilliant opening point goes to Sharapova…who appears to be growing in confidence as the match moves along.

4-3: Williams gets out of trouble one more time and time is something Sharapova is running out of

40-30: Serena nails yet another massive serve and suddenly turned this game around

0-30: Another opportunity for Sharapova…can’t continue to let these slip by.

3-3: Huge props to Sharapova for not giving up and waiting for Serena to make a mistake.

40-40: An unforced error on the backhand from Serena gives Maria hope

30-40: Yet another break point was the top seed…Sharapova is playing with fire here

30-30: Sharapova is giving it her all but is barely staying alive

3-2: Serena was pushed but manages to hold the fort

40-30: Apparently I have spoken to soon. Williams continues to punish the ball all over the court and Sharapova is starting to look overmatched.

0-30: Couple of quick points puts Sharapova in the driver’s seat…could this be the “break” she is looking for?

2-2: Sharapova does exactly that and we remain on serve.

30-15: A challenge that actually goes Sharapova’s way for a change and she is two points away from holding

2-1: Yet another breeze of a service game for the world No. 1 as she has clearly found the range with her serve.

1-1: What a bounce back from the No. 2 seed to hold. That game was an absolute must have.

40-40: Huge bounce back from Maria and we are now at Deuce

15-40: Double break point and this could get out of hand real quick

1-0: Williams holds at love and it looks as though Sharapova is going to have to play a flawless set in order to push this one to the distance.

40-0: Three points in the blink of an eye and Serena looks to be finding her stride.

Second Set: After breaking Sharapova to close out the set, Williams will serve to start set two

3-6: And there it is…opener goes to Serena Williams 6-3 and she is now just one set away from earning the 19th Grand Slam title of her career

0-40: Not exactly the response Sharapova was hoping for after breaking back. Triple set point for Williams.

3-5: Serena double faults yet again and essentially gift wraps the break of serve for Sharapova

30-40: Sharapova has watched tripe break point shrink to one final break opportunity. She must convert here.

0-30: A quick double fault and lazy forehand has given Maria hope of responding right back with a break of her own.

2-5: Sharapova is broken at love at just like that Serena will be serving for the set

2-4: After a short delay, Williams responds with an ace and Sharapova error makes it two points in just three shots

Rain Delay: Looks as though we will be looking at a 10-15 minute delay before the match resumes.

Rain Delay: Play is suspended due to rain and the roof has been ordered to be closed.

30-30: Serena gets it back to 30 but what do we have here…it’s raining an now it is pouring!!!

0-15: Monster return from Sharapova to jump out front

2-3: Nice get from Williams but Sharapova responds with a lovely little lob to hold

40-15: Sharapova clearly seems to have righted the ship

1-3: Sharapova challenges the serve but to no avail…Serena holds

40-30: Nice rebound from Williams after a tough start to the game and she is now one point away from holding serve.

0-15: Cute little drop shot gives Sharapova an early jump in the game. Williams is not looking the healthiest we have seen her…as she continue to breathe heavy and fight whatever bug has been bothering her over the last week.

1-2: Clean winner from the talented Russian and Sharapova is on the board.

30-0: Two quick points for Sharapova as she looks as though she rebounded from the early break

0-2: Just like that it is game to Williams and the early lead his hers.

40-30: Williams puts away a short ball to move within one point for consolidating the early break.

15-15: Serena double faults to even things up

0-1: Williams breaks thanks to a Sharapova double fault…not exactly the start Maria was hoping for.

40-40: Big forehand winner from Serena to get this one to deuce

30-30: Couple of unforced errors from Williams and we are even

0-30: Maria blinks again and just like that Serena is moving towards an early break

First Set , 0-15: Big return from Williams and Sharapova put it into the net to give the American the first point of the match

With that said, after a bit of delay we are finally here...time to get this one underway

Have to stay, as great a career as Williams has had and as wonderful as Chris Evert and Martina Navratilova were, the lack of support Steffi Graf gets in the Greatest of All-Time discussion is rather baffling. Her records speak for themselves and twenty-two majors is twnety-two majors.

While the consensus seems to be that Williams will need to have an "off" day in order for Sharapova to have a shot, nothing could be further from the truth. With Serena yet another year older, she is simply not the same player she was two or three years ago.

We are now mere moment away from No. 1 - No. 2 something we haven't seen in 11 long years on the Women's side of the draw in Melbourne. Again you just get that feeling that we could be in for something very special

Look for both players to be extremely confident coming onto the court and one would think Sharapova has to avoid getting off to a slow start with her record being what it is against Serena. Though to be perfectly honest, Maria is the one who comes into this one playing at a very high level and something tells she would love to prove a point by taking home the second Aussie crown of her career.

We are rougly forty-five minutes away from the start of the 2015 Australian Open Women's Final between Maria Sharapova and Serena Williams. The anticipation is starting to grow and according to Brad Gilbert the playing conditions look to favour the No. 1 player in the world.

Was just out on Laver cool conditions and breezy perfect for SW, key stats tonight SW 70 Ace 14 double faults Shazza 24ace 30 double faults

— Brad Gilbert (@bgtennisnation) January 31, 2015

So we are finally here. Despite all of the upsets that took place over on the women’s side of the draw, the winner of this year’s Australian Open will come down to the two best players in the world…Serena Williams and Maria Sharapova.

While it may appear to be a bit of a mismatch on paper, as the eighteen-time Grand Slam winner owns a career mark of 16-2 and is on fifteen match win streak against the No. 2 player in the world, something tells me we could be in for something special on Saturday evening in Rod Laver Arena.

As exciting as it maybe for fans to see the likes of Canada’s Eugenie Bouchard and American teenager Madison Keys work their way into the picture as two of the best up and coming players on tour, it is still the so-called old guard who remain the ones to beat on the game’s biggest stage.

At thirty-three years of age, Williams is clearly on the downside of what has truly been a brilliant career and yet here we sit…mere hours away from making her twenty-third appearance in a slam final. Despite struggling to find her game for the better part of 2014, Williams has now made it to back-to-back major finals and could very well take sole position of second place on the Open Era all-time list, where she currently finds herself in a three-way tie with Chris Evert and Martina Navratilova.

While it may not have been easy as one might have thought, Williams was still plenty good enough to not only advance to the semi-finals but also knock Keys from the tournament in straight sets, 7-6(5), 6-2, after watching her upset Venus Williams, 6-3, 4-6, 6-4, in what was one heck of a quarterfinal matchup. It may not have been vintage Serena but at the end of the day, all that truly matters are the results and considering she is in yet another final…they speak for themselves.

As far as Sharapova is concerned, it truly has been a tale of two tournaments for the Russian No. 1. The fact she even made it out of the second round was a minor miracle in itself, as she managed to fight off a pair of match points before eventually dismissing qualifier Alexandra Panova in three sets, 6-1, 4-6, 7-5. Outside of the final seven games of the match, the twenty-seven year old was nowhere near her best but to her credit, she found a way to survive and has been a completely different player since.

From that point on, Sharapova has dropped a grand total of fifteen games in beating the likes of Shuai Peng, Bouchard and Ekaterina Makarova and looking downright dominant in doing so. Playing at the level she is currently at, the chances of the 2008 Aussie Open champ finally breaking out of her extended slump against Williams appears to be not only be possible but quite likely.

Below is a transcript of the final question that Serena Williams was asked during her post-match press conference following her semi-final victory over American teenager Madison Keys:

What is going to be the most important factor in the final against Maria, and how important is getting off to a really good, solid start going to be?

It's going to be important for me to get off to a good start, I think. With that being said, if not, I'm going to be ready to fight. I think she really wants this. I can see that she wants to do well. She wants to improve her game. She wants to take it to the next level. So, you know, I have to know that she wants to win probably a lot.

Below is a transcript of one of the final question posed to Maria Sharapova during her post-match press conference following her semi-final victory over Ekaterina Makarova:

There's a chance you could play Serena in the final. You obviously have had a tough head-tohead with her. What is it about her game that gives you so much trouble?

Yeah, I think her power and her aggressiveness, I think that's always made me a little bit too aggressive, maybe going for a little bit more than I had to. You know, she's great at making players hit that shot that you don't necessarily have to go for. You know, maybe going for a little too much, going on the line. It's been a really difficult matchup for me, but, you know, I am a competitor. If I do play her, I will go out and I will do everything I can to try to change that result around

Road To The Finals

Serena Williams

First Round

d. Alison Van Uytvanck (6-0, 6-4)

Second Round

d. Vera Zvonareva (7-5, 6-0)

Third Round

d. Elina Svitolina (4-6, 6-2, 6-0)

Fourth Round

d. Garbine Muguruza (2-6, 6-3, 6-2)

Quarterfinals

d. Dominika Cibulkova (6-2, 6-2)