MELBOURNE, Jan 28 (IANS): Victoria Azarenka of Belarus Saturday won her first Grand Slam, defeating Russian Maria Sharapova in straight sets in the Australian Open final here.
The 6-3, 6-0 victory for Azarenka takes her to the No.1 spot in the WTA rankings replacing Dane Caroline Wozniacki, who lost to Belgian Kim Clijsters in the quarter-finals.
Some determined running around the court by Azarenka forced Sharapova into hitting 29 errors.
The Russian was quickly off the blocks, breaking Azarenka's serve in the first game of the match. However, as the Belarusian settled her nerves of playing in her first major final, she started to dominate the Russian.
Azarenka din't give an inch as she covered the court amazingly, making Sharapova look for the lines, and with some powerful ground strokes the No.3 seed took just an hour and quarter to dispose of her opponent.
The 2009 champion here was completely outclassed as the new World No.1 smashed 12 winners to make the final a one-sided affair.
Before this match, the two had met six times and it was a dead heat with three wins apiece. Azarenka takes her winning streak to 12 matches, including the Sydney International title ahead of the Australian Open.
