Serena Williams vs. Maria Sharapova: Recap, Result of Australian Open 2015 Final

Serena Williams continued her dominance of Maria Sharapova to triumph 6-3, 7-6(5) on Saturday and claim a sixth Australian Open title, her 19th Grand Slam overall.

Williams, 33, was made to work for it.

The top seed had struggled with illness on the eve of the final. She even withdrew from her final practice as she dealt with the symptoms of a cold, according to The Associated Press. Once the final began, Williams' initial destruction of an opponent she's owned for the past 11 years was all too familiar.

Rob Griffith/Associated Press

Serena trusted a pattern for victory that's worked so often against the 27-year-old Sharapova, which involved breaking the Russian's serve early to apply pressure. It's been something of a speciality for Williams in recent meetings between the two. According to Sports Illustrated, "In the last four matches this pair has played on hard courts over the last two years, Serena has broken Sharapova's serve 21 times."

Williams set the tone to do the same in this final by forcing a break after Sharapova had won the toss and opted to serve. Despite trying to be the aggressor, Sharapova was erratic under pressure early on.

Heavy rain soon briefly interrupted play during the first set. The roof was even brought down over the arena as organisers worked to cover the court:

At the time of the stoppage, Williams was 3-2 up with the score 30-30 in the sixth game. After play resumed, Sharapova failed to win a point in her next six attempts.

Williams soon claimed the first set 6-3. That gave her a huge psychological advantage given the historical significance of the opening set in recent finals, per ESPN Tennis:

"

In 31 of the last 33 Grand Slam women's finals, the winner of the first set has won the final. Which woman will come out firing? #AusOpen

— ESPNTennis (@ESPNTennis) January 31, 2015"

BBC Sport provided highlights of some of the opening-set action:

Things stayed as one-sided at the start of the second set. Despite Sharapova continuing to fight, Williams' powerful serve continually wore the Russian down.

After dropping the second game of the set, Williams ruthlessly extinguished Sharapova's brief hope. She served a perfect game to take the third.

Sharapova couldn't cope with the power and variety of Williams' serve. ESPN analyst Pam Shriver detailed one particular delivery that continually gave the Russian trouble:

Tennis writer Tom Perrotta was left in no doubt about the effectiveness of Williams' serve: 

In all, Williams blasted 18 aces, per the IBM SlamTracker. Every time Sharapova made things look close, Williams would smash a series of aces to stay in front.

She boomed another flawless game to move to 5-4 in the second set. That meant Sharapova had to hold serve to stay in the match. It presented another chance for Williams to break the Russian's serve and spirit, but she couldn't take it, slipping in front of the net at deuce before hitting out to let Sharapova even the set.

A tiebreaker ensued, and Sharapova fought valiantly. Williams went 4-1 in front but then appeared to buckle. She dropped a pair of points, including a rare one behind her first serve. However, she appropriately smashed her final ace to claim the set and the championship.

Sports Illustrated editor Jon Wertheim credited the final point to Williams' resolve:

Sharapova deserved tremendous credit for consistently forcing the issue against an opponent in dominant form. In the end, though, she ran out of Houdini-style escape acts.

Williams was still full of praise for her plucky opponent's resolve:

Naturally, Williams was also overjoyed with the latest addition to her Grand Slam haul:

Part of those 19 are half a dozen Australian Open trophies:

SportsCenter noted how impressive Williams has been in Australian Open finals over the years:

For her part, Sharapova remained philosophical after another disappointing loss in this tournament:

"

“I’ve had some of best memories of my career on this court & also some of my toughest losses.” Congrats Maria on another incredible #AusOpen

— ESPNTennis (@ESPNTennis) January 31, 2015"

This marks the 16th time in a row Sharapova couldn't beat Williams. That's a tough mental blow for any player.

It could well leave Sharapova jaded ahead of the defence of her French Open title. As for Williams, playing this well in a final, despite being at less than perfect health, is an ominous reminder she's still streets ahead at the top of the women's game.