Australian Open 2016 Women's Final: TV Schedule, Start Time and Live Stream

The 2016 Australian Open women's final will feature two players at the opposite ends of the tennis spectrum, as No. 1 Serena Williams goes for her 22nd Grand Slam title while No. 7 Angelique Kerber searches for her first.

Despite taking four months off ahead of the Aussie Open, Serena entered Melbourne as the favorite and has held up her end of the bargain to this point. Kerber took advantage of a wide-open bottom half of the bracket, but she certainly earned her way into the final, primarily by knocking off No. 14 Victoria Azarenka in the quarters.

It would be easy to view Serena's seventh Australian Open title as an inevitability, but Kerber has shown enough grittiness in Melbourne to create at least a slight level of doubt.

Ahead of Saturday's juggernaut-versus-underdog matchup at the Australian Open, here is a look at when and where to watch the clash, as well as what to expect.

Where: Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne, Australia

When: Saturday, Jan. 30 at 3:30 a.m. ET

Watch: ESPN

Live Stream: WatchESPN

Keys to Williams Victory

Rick Rycroft/Associated Press

Williams seemingly has every possible advantage over Kerber entering the Aussie Open final, but the pressure that comes with being such an overwhelming favorite may be the one thing standing between her and yet another Grand Slam championship.

Serena seems to make history each time she wins a title, and that will be the case should she prevail Saturday morning, as she will tie Steffi Graf on the all-time Grand Slam championship list.

Despite her status as the best player in the world and arguably the best women's player in the history of tennis, Williams admitted she didn't know if she could make it this far after taking so much time off, and she acknowledged the challenge ahead, according to WTATennis.com:

"

It's going to be tough no matter what; whenever you're stepping onto the court - especially for me, I feel like everyone plays their hardest when they play me.

I'm going to be ready and whatever happens, happens. I'm really excited just to be in the final; I can't say that I thought I would have been in this final after taking so much time off. Either way, I'll be excited.

"

While Serena understands that facing Kerber won't be a walk in the park, she also realizes that she controls her own destiny based on the way she plays, per the Australian Open's official Twitter account:

Although Williams won three Grand Slam titles last year, she often found herself battling and having to outlast her opponents in three sets.

That hasn't been the case in Melbourne, as she has yet to drop one. According to ESPN Stats & Info, a straight-sets victory over Kerber will put her in elite company:

From a skill-set perspective, the biggest advantage Williams has over Kerber is her pure power both in terms of service and groundstrokes.

That was on full display in Serena's semifinal win over No. 4 Agnieszka Radwanska, as she cranked eight aces, won a ridiculous 88 percent of her first-serve points and smashed 42 winners with just 17 unforced errors.

Kerber is likely to allow Serena to dictate the play, which means the onus will be on Williams to be precise and hit the lines.

Getting first serves in on a consistent basis will go a long way toward accomplishing that, and if she can keep Kerber on her heels in that regard, Serena will be in ideal shape.

Keys to Kerber Victory

Vincent Thian/Associated Press

While Saturday marks the first Grand Slam final of her career, this isn't Kerber's first rodeo. She is a 28-year-old veteran who has spent a lot of time in the top 10, and she has already faced Serena on several occasions.

Her career mark of 1-5 against Williams isn't a particularly good one, but she can take solace in knowing that she has beaten her on a hardcourt before, back in 2012 at the Cincinnati Masters.

Also, while Serena generally dominates first-time Grand Slam finalists, she isn't perfect in that regard, as Maria Sharapova tripped her up at Wimbledon in 2004, according to Chris Skelton of Tennis View Magazine:

Even though Williams has been in this position on many occasions and faced more highly touted players than Kerber in the past, the German doesn't expect any arrogance or lapses in concentration on Serena's part, per WTA Insider:

Kerber is playing with house money in many ways since few expect her to come out on top, and she realizes that will allow her to play free of inhibitions:

Few are giving Kerber a chance, but even Serena isn't immune to getting upset by players of Kerber's caliber on the big stage.

In fact, Williams fell to a similar player in last year's U.S. Open semifinals when she was shocked by Italy's Roberta Vinci in three sets.

While Kerber is a stronger all-around player than Vinci, they are both plucky counterpunchers who are strong at tracking the ball down then forcing their opponents into mistakes.

Kerber did precisely that against Johanna Konta in the semis of the Australian Open. Kerber produced just 14 winners and 11 unforced errors herself, while Konta made 36 unforced errors, which was the story of the match.

There is no chance of Kerber matching Serena in terms of power, but she may be able to frustrate her simply by keeping the ball in play.

Kerber is essentially at the mercy of Williams' form, but a somewhat conservative game plan will at least give her a chance to win through Serena beating herself.

Prediction

After appearing burnt out at the end of the 2015 season due to everything the pursuit of a calendar Grand Slam took out of her both physically and mentally, Serena seems as locked in as ever Down Under.

Four months away from tennis seems to have rejuvenated the American superstar, and she has used that feeling to overwhelm her opponents.

Focus has not been an issue for Williams thus far, which means she has been able to win based purely on outclassing other players rather than having to dig deep and rely on her experiences and intestinal fortitude.

None of that bodes well for Kerber, despite how strong she has looked in the tournament—especially in the win over Azarenka, who is a similar player to Williams from a power perspective.

Williams showed what she could do against a player of Kerber's ilk in the semis, though, when she beat Radwanska in just over an hour.

Kerber has proved at the Australian Open that she won't fold on the big stage, but that simply won't be enough to stop Serena from scoring a straight-set victory.  

Follow @MikeChiari on Twitter.