Williams vs. Sharapova: Score, Highlights for Australian Open 2015 Women's Final

No. 1 Serena Williams def. No. 2 Maria Sharapova, 6-3, 7-6 (7-5) 

Serena Williams earned her 19th Grand Slam title Saturday night in Melbourne with a 6-3, 7-6 victory over Maria Sharapova.

The win marked the 16th consecutive time the American defeated the Russian-born player in tournament action.

Williams started the match with a break of serve and she used the momentum from that to go on and take the first set, which saw a brief break in action because of a roof closure.

The American did lose her composure on her final service game of the set, but she rallied right back to break Sharapova and win 6-3.

Sharapova gained some footing during the second set, which forced the No. 1 seed to fight for the Australian Open women's championship.

The No. 2 seed had a chance to earn a key break in the middle of the second set, but on two straight occasions Williams came back from 0-30 to hold serve.

After forcing a tiebreak with a few key holds, Sharapova fell victim to some terrific serves and returns from the top women's player in the world. 

Williams closed out the match with her 18th ace, which also helped her surpass Chris Evert and Martina Navratilova on the all-time Grand Slam championship chart. She is three titles behind all-time leader Steffi Graf. 

Williams' victory was her sixth in Melbourne following championships in 2003, 2005, 2007, 2009 and 2010.

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