Australian Open 2015 Results: Winner, Score, Stats from Women's Final

Serena Williams used superior serving and overall firepower to defeat Maria Sharapova 6-3, 7-6 (5) in the Australian Open women's final.

It marked the 19th career Grand Slam title for Williams and her sixth triumph in this tournament. Only Steffi Graf's 22 major titles are more than Williams' total in the Open era.

Nick Zaccardi of NBCSports.com brought up a relevant timeline in that context:

Even at age 33, Williams doesn't appear to be slowing down anytime soon.

ESPN Stats and Info alluded to how impressive Williams' win at Melbourne Park was, considering she'd gone since 2010 without winning the season's first major event:

As for the numbers from the match itself—courtesy of AusOpen.com—they reflect more than anything the edge Williams has over all her other opponents in terms of sheer skill and the velocity she can generate on her serve and groundstrokes.

In short, some shots Williams hits are simply untouchable—even for a gritty, all-court athlete like Sharapova.

Williams smashed 18 aces to Sharapova's five, and each player had four double faults. First-serve percentage was a big key, as Williams held a 65 to 58 edge in that category, winning 84 percent of her points when her opening serve was in play.

That Sharapova managed to win 62 percent of Williams' second-serve points is a testament to the Russian star's counterpunching ability. The innate trait helped Sharapova stave off multiple match points in the second round and rally to the final.

It just wasn't enough to overcome Williams, whose 25 errors were more than Sharapova hit (15), but the American legend put away 38 winners to the Russian's 21.

To get the one-set advantage on her relentless adversary, Williams capitalized on all three break chances, but missed on all four of those opportunities in the second. She then outlasted Sharapova in a tense tiebreaker to take the trophy.

After the match, Williams thanked her close, fervent supporters on Twitter:

Mike Greenberg of ESPN pondered how Williams would go down in history after her latest exploits in Melbourne:

Provided she has the competitive spirit to continue making her mark in the record books and still feels encouraged by those around her, there's no telling how long Williams can continue her reign atop women's tennis.

Graf's record of Grand Slam tournament wins in the Open era is in serious jeopardy now that Williams has overcome a slow beginning to 2014, with titles at the U.S. Open and now in Australia.

Hard courts accentuate the strengths of Williams' game the most. She is the prohibitive favorite for the next few years at those events as long as her skills don't diminish, which seems imminent but has yet to happen.

With the all-time mark of majors to chase, there's plenty of incentive for Williams to stay sharp and remain the dominant force she's been at the top of her game.