Melbourne: Serena Williams routed Dinara Safina 6-0, 6-3 on Saturday to win the Australian Open—her 10th Grand Slam title—and return to the No. 1 ranking.
In the first game, Safina double-faulted three times, including on break point. Williams ran off 18 of the last 20 points in the first set to finish it in 22 minutes.
Later in the tournament, Williams finished with 23 winners and just seven unforced errors in the final.
It was Williams' second overwhelming victory in a final at Melbourne Park, where she kept alive her record of winning in odd-numbered years since 2003.
On Sunday, top-ranked Rafael Nadal will face No. 2 Roger Federer in the men's final.
Federer will be trying to tie Pete Sampras' record of 14 major titles, while Nadal is seeking his third Grand Slam out of the last four.
Safina looked nothing like the player who won four titles and the Beijing Olympics silver
Australian Open results
Women's singles
Serena Williams (2), United States, def. Dinara Safina (3), Russia, 6-0, 6-3.
Junior boys' singles
Yuki Bhambri (1), India, def. Alexandros-Ferndinandos Georgoudas, Germany, 6-3, 6-1.
Junior girls' singles
Ksenia Pervak (3), Russia, def. Laura Robson (5), Britain, 6-3, 6-1.
Junior boys' doubles
Francis Casey Alcantara, Philippines, and Hsieh Cheng-peng (7), Taiwan, def. Mikhail Biryukov, Russia, and Yasutaka Uchiyama, Japan, 6-4, 6-2.
Junior girls' doubles
Christina McHale, United States, and Ajla Tomljanovic (6), Croatia, def. Alexandra Krunic, Serbia, and Sandra Zaniewska, Poland, 6-1, 2-6, 10-4 tiebreak.
Men's wheelchair singles
Shingo Kunieda (1), Japan, def. Stephane Houdet, France, 6-2, 6-4.
Women's wheelchair singles
Esther Vergeer (1), Netherlands, def. Korie Homan (2), Netherlands, 6-4, 6-2.
Quad
Peter Norfolk, Britain, def. David Wagner, United States, 7-6 (5), 6-1.
