The final of the Australian Open sees the world number one and two play each other as Serena Williams and Maria Sharapova search for their 19th and 6th Grand Slam respectively. Favourites coming into the tournament, Williams and Sharapova will play for the fourth time in the final of one of tennis' majors.
Preview Video from the Official WTA YouTube Channel.
Both players moved through to the final after winning their semis in straight sets. Williams served an ace to convert her ninth match point to beat fellow American Madison Keys 7-6 (7-5) 6-2. 19-year-old Keys, who had struggled with injury in the previous round, matched the top seed for power but lacked consistency as she hit 39 unforced errors to lose in 1 hour and 24 minutes. After finding herself 3-0 down in the first set, Williams managed to force a tiebreak before winning it with a big serve. By the second set Williams was in control, dominating Keys' second serve as she broke in the first game. She raced to a 5-1 lead before Keys mounted some resistance, saving eight match points to hold serve. However, Serena won the following game to move into her 24th Grand Slam final.
Sharapova's semi-final was more straight forward, beating the tenth seeded Ekaterina Makarova in 1 hour 27 minutes. The 2008 Champion served well despite a shaky ten minute long opening service game in which she saved two break points before easing into a 4-1 lead. Makarova seemed to be putting up a fight as she broke to bring the score to 4-3, but Sharapova once again pushed ahead to take the first set in 48 minutes. And she started the second in a similar vein, dispatching a backhand to lead 3-0. From then on there seemed no way back for Makarova, as Sharapova won 6-3 6-2 to move into her third Australian Open final.
Sharapova holds a 2-16 win/loss record against the American, having not beaten Williams at a major since the Wimbledon 2004 final. Despite this, she's confident about adding to her collection of Grand Slams, "I think my confidence should be pretty high going into a final of a Grand Slam, no matter who I'm facing and whether I've had a terrible record - to say the least - against someone". Williams praised her rival of many years saying, "Maria is playing great. She's in the tournament only because she's a fighter and only because she refuses to give up".
The final will start not before 7.30pm local time (8.30am GMT) on Rod Laver Arena tomorrow (Saturday 31 January).
Serena Williams pre-final interview. [From Australian Open YouTube] | Maria Sharapova pre-final interview. [From Australian Open YouTube] |