Women's Singles Final

OK let us rid ourselves of the stats. The last female debut Grand Slam singles finalist to win was Petra Kvitova at Wimbledon last year against Maria Sharapova. Victoria Azarenka is appearing in her first GS singles final and also against Sharapova. Therefore she wins.

Little concerning Maria at the start

On the other hand, Maria Sharapova won her first GS singles title at Wimbledon in 2004, an Olympic Year, and in her only GS final for the year. In 2008, the next Olympic year, the Russian won again, this time the Aus Open, her single GS final for that year. 2012 is the latest Olympic year and so therefore by appearing in a GS final Sharapova must win.

Statistics cannot definitively determine the winner, so we can only be as objective as we can and just guess. The number three and number four in the world have won their way through to the final thanks to consistently impressive tennis, and when confronted with the utmost pressure from semi final opponents, came out tops by winning points rather than hoping and praying for errors at the other end.

My tip at the start of the tournament was for a Williams win over Azarenka in the final so I must stick with the player that I correctly selected to make it this far. She did knock out the defending champion coming back after losing the second set 6-1; her backhand amongst a great array of shots plus a steely nerve filled me with confidence that the Belarusian could create some more history down under in 2012.

Maria Sharapova has to be commended for her comeback from career threatening shoulder injury to now be one match away from top player in the world once more. Her ability to stave off multiple break points in her semi against Kvitova was a credit to her, considering her record of falling away under that intense pressure as recently as Roland Garros, and Wimbledon to a lesser degree last year. Her credentials to win here are just as sound.

Azarenka served first in her first GS Singles Final and it turned out to be a combination of two double faults and unforced errors from both players, the only shot of any quality a forehand from Vika forcing an error from Maria, but all to no avail. 1-0 Maria.

Attacking the backhand of Azarenka paid dividends for Maria in the second game as she consolidated the break and the "smart" remarks from elements in the crowd could not be heard.

From 0-30, a couple of forehands from Vika seemed to settle her down after one of Maria's set the court alight. On the board at 1-2 and the match had probably just started. A signature backhand winner from Azarenka collaborated with a number of Sharapova mistakes to organize the overthrow of the Russian serve in the fourth game and stabilise the world at 2-2.

Vika couldn't keep her feet on the ground

Supporters of the new Azarenka regime sent Maria to exile for a game though she didn't leave quietly, going with a parting winning backhand shot to remind us of her latent power. 3-2 Vika.
Back from her one game suspension, Maria began her attempt to ascend to what she believed was her rightful position in the queens court, using her knowledge of the court to move Vika around to her disadvantage. 3-3

The seventh game was a showcase to the tennis world of the Azarenka backhand, not only its power to drive winners cross court and down the line, but also it's finesse to draw Sharapova forward and out of her comfort zone, and to top it off with a magical lob. 4-3 Vika.

The forehand and serve helped facilitate the communciation of the Maria message to her loyal masses, no better exemplified than in game eight where Vika joined in, seemingly impressed by the effect of the forehand in particular. A FH winner from Vika, double fault from Maria and soon 40-15 became a break point against the Sharapova delivery. Like in her semi final, she stopped the rot, at least temporarily, but not ultimately because here was an opponent who had another string to her bow. Now she seized the chance to come into the net and put away points early in rallies. The break was clear. 5-3 Vika.

In serving for the first set Azarenka fell victim to a stunning backhand from Sharapova yet it was only a little stumble and paled when compared to the backhand damage inflicted by Vika. A very comfortable hold for 6-3 and now Maria had the work to do.

Discussing tactics with new coach

Maria lost serve first up in the second set, but it will be remembered for the fascinating read on a Maria overhead - Vika caught it flush with a forehand which turned into a crosscourt pass for the break.    1-0 Azarenka.

Maria, champion that she is, forced Vika to a break point, but even with the uplift in her tempo and standard, Vika showed she could absorb all the additional pressure and remain calm and so self assured to hold serve and retain the edge 2-0.

The errors bled from the open wound which Vika had widened on Maria's game with her latest winner, and with that another break inevitably coincided. 3-0 with the double break and a set in hand set the scene for either the comeback of the ages or a sensational debut Grand Slam success for one Belarusian girl.

Attempting to hit her way out of trouble with winners was a tactic borne of frustration and highly unlikely to succeed for Maria; it did not, and the service hold came a whole lot simpler for Vika as a result. 4-0 and not far away at this rate.

"Can I have your autograph Vika?"

The winners at Vika's end and the disaster at Maria's kept on coming and the third break for the set arrived for 5-0 and Vika to serve for the title.

Maria played some tremendous tennis in the final game, as you would expect, even having break point at one stage, but nothing could stop an absolutely spectacular performance from Victoria Azarenka who served out the match and won the 2012 Australian Open Womens Singles title, in the process claiming the number one ranking in the world. 6-3 6-0 Azarenka.

"2 more and you will be as good as me"

Sadly for the tournament the match itself was one-sided but we did have a treat in what we received from Vika. 2012 will be big for her and I suspect Maria will have a large say in what happens along the way as well.