Azarenka played brilliantly today to seal her first GS victory. She fully deserved the AO title. Sharapova had no answer to her shots but it will be wrong to assume that the three time GS champion is all done.

Sharapova didn't play the level of tennis that was required at this stage but then everyone has their ups and downs in life.I think judging by her character in the past, she will now try even harder to reach her goals. Lost Hope? http://bit.ly/wb2oSM

Pete

Thanks

Well as a Vika fan I sat back in 'awe' of her overall performance tonight at Rod Laver.

I never dreamt I would see such a 'zone' performance in all area's of her game.Indeed she started out nervous as one would expect seeing it was her first GS final appearence...then she brushed those nerves aside and displayed a 'clinical performance'.

Pinch Me I thought?

Victoria deserved her 1st GS title and welcome to our new number 1 player in the world

Victoria You Just Rocked Rod Laver tonight and gain soo many more admirers.

FYI, Sharapova won the toss and elected to receive.
Check your facts first Mr. Pete Bodo!!

I'm sure that Sharapova won the toss and Elected to recieve....

Another young talent stepping up on the big stage. Caro, take note.

Embarrassing. Things are pretty dire in the women's game when the world number 4 can't serve. But well done to Azarenka for using the whole court and keeping her cool admirably when victory beckoned.

They had a nice looking girl as a No 1
They hated it.
They have a baggage in boxers now
They gonna like it.
They hated to get a screamer to win
They got a double screamer to enjoy.

The mob deserves its queen.

What a great article AP. loved reading it...Sharapova will be back!

Congrats to Vika,well done. Just when you think Maria was over the poor serving and had returned to her old serve, she prove you wrong. When she serves poorly(second serve) the errors creep in. This Sharapova looked like the post surgery Sharapova, unable to win a grandslam due to poor serving.I expected Vika to win, but this was more than a win, but a huge, boring beatdown, a bagel, and not very competitive. The scoreline says it all about the lack of competitiveness in this match.

Tito, "baggage in boxers". Thought Vika look nice and she won, deserves to be no l.

crap match. congrats to the winner. crap match.

Yeah baby Azababy!!!

from now on I give you permission to quick SEREBABY's behind if you want,woot woot,you rock!

beautiful Belarussian talented slam holder number one!

An absolutely stunning performance from Azarenka, sending the three-time champion reeling, capturing the AO tile with authority (after some early jitters) and rocketing to the #1 ranking in the process.

A devastating loss for Maria (with a bagel that burned right through her game) as she could not get her body into position on too many of the blazing Azarenka returns: while the players were even in winners, the unforced error count was the big indicator of who was in control. Victoria had 12 UEs and Maria had 30. Azarenka is just twenty-two but she knew just what to do.

Those seeking glory in the world of women's professional tennis take heed: this is how it is done. You develop your budding talent into a refined, winning form; you toughen your mind and body through training and practice; you adopt a style of play that will, more often than not, undo your opponents; and then you go out and play with heart and intelligence and determination. Heaven knows, it ain't easy to do all this but a special player, an elite player, can do it and do it well.

On Monday the top five ranking on the WTA tour will be thus: #5 Samantha Stosur, #4 Caroline Wozniacki, #3 Maria Sharapova, #2 Petra Kvitova... and #1 Victoria Azarenka! Congratulations Vika on your first Grand Slam title and on gaining the top ranking with Grand Slam legitimacy.

I thought nobody could deliver a crushing beatdown to Maria like Serena does, well Vika sure top it with the bagel. I got up at 3a.m. to watch that boring final!! Waste of time!

AND WE HAVE A NEW NUMBER ONE FOLKS!

She deserves every bit of this. Before the match I really wasn't rooting for anyone but about half way through the first set I found myself pulling for Vika. I love this girls attitude and demeanor on court. Her game was just to good for Maria. Maria thought that she could just blow her off the court with her ground strokes but Vika can hit with her. She is a better athlete and Maria movement got exposed. Finally our number one player is a Grand Slam champion. Congrats to Vika.

@ Jigsawwill

I remember you said Sharapova would never be Kvitova.

Great write up. Azarenka played a great match. Chrissie seemed right on target at the beginning of the match when she said Azarenka would try to take away Maria's time, and expose her relative lack of mobility. It seems she did exactly that. Congratulations to the new champion, but well done to both ladies, Maria will have a few more chances, she's still relatively young, amazingly.

Well done for Maria on the final, just not happy with the match I saw. It looked like Vika was playing some first round qualifier out there who had no answer. A final should offer us the best of the two best.

Vika absolutely outplayed Maria and deserved the title and the No.1. Maria didn't serve badly but otherwise had no answer for Vika's game. Though she is still a danger at every tournament to every player, including Vika.

Murray finally starts to believe that he can attack the top guys and actually succeed. It was a positive experience for him. Next time Djoker (or Nadal) won't be as confident against him.

"Azarenka hunched over her backhand like a sniper hunkered down on the scope of a rifle, and pulling the trigger without a tremor, time and again" Nice imagery for the kids, Pete. Maybe ARod can get your wannabe prodigies into the bell tower in Austin again. What an f'd up gun culture we swim in, even if it's just in thoughtless extended metaphors like these....

well. she proved beyond any doubt that she has got the game to hang in with the elite and outclass some with her flawless shotmaking that she produced tonight in her first grandslam final.i thought she was very gutsy tonight barring some initial hiccup that she had for a couple of games and that alone will hold her in good stead for the future ahead.if anything her controlled aggression won her the title as she was able to keep the ball in play and come up with some staggering shots especially off her bh wing against one of the ferocious ball strikers on wta tour. the biggest difference being able to keep her composure when needed and she moved her opponent whenever she got a chance.

nevertheless its a lackluster performance from maria. she wasnt in control of most of her rallies and lacked conviction.couldnt fight her way back and she sprayed too many errors as she was forced to press more and more.

Vika exposed how one dimensional Screamapova's game is.

Kvitova is still better than Azarenka make no mistake...

Too bad she gifted Maria the Semifinal by not converting the en mass Break Points she's had...

The logical Final would have been Vika vs Petra

Big old Kvitova didn't gift Maria anything. Maria beat her with clutch serving on key points, ie, when the big old girl had two break points on Maria's serves and better returns from Sharapova. She didn't convert because Maria didn't allow her too. You sound as bad a Evert talking about Maria "beating herself" today when we all know what we saw out there.

@ TennisFed

Kvi cannot even beat Sharapova. Don't make us laugh.

I woke up to watch a couple of points but the shrieking lulled me back to sleep. Glad to awaken again to find Vika is number 1 and AO Champion! And, to read that she played so well and crushed her opponent! Well done!

Kvitova beat Sharapova at Wimbledon just sayin...ANYONE from the Top 5 would have beaten Sharapova today EVEN Wozniacki...

I'm a big fan of tennis and of women's tennis which, at times, I find more interesting to watch than men's tennis. This being said, I did not bother to get up to watch the women's final this morning because both players really annoy me with their loud shrieks and grunts. I thought that Azarenka would probably pull this one off. Her biggest test was probably getting through Clijsters in the semis. I think that beating the 4-time slam winner & defending champion must have been a big confidence boost.
It's interesting to see that, in the course of the last year, we've had 4 consecutive first-time slam winners on the women's side. Since Justine's stellar seasons of 2006 (4 grand slam finals) & 2007 (only 4 losses during the whole year), no one has dominated the women's tour. It'll be interesting to see who will get to the top and stay there. To be continued...

You can put EVEN all you want, Caro has beat her twice, but right down Vika is a better player than the big old gal.

Should read right now.

Big old girl 7 titles, Vika ll. Each winning a GS. Who is better?

Tennisfed, I'll give you this, big old Kvitova would have put up a better fight and given us a more competitive match. This looked like a first match that you see big players totally beat down their lesser opponents

@ TennisFed

Kvi is a primitive player. Which actually helped her to win something. But it also will hinder her from more achievements. So embrace yourself for more disappointment.

@Roger

Um, by the US Open 2009, Serena held three grand slams at one time. Sounds like domination to me. Then she won the YEC, and won two more grand slams the next year. That's definitely domination.

So happy for Azarenka. She played like she was ready to be #1. Maria did not play up to the level she showed throughout the tournament, and those errors that weren't there in the previous six rounds reared their ugly heads last night. However, much of that had to do with Azarenka's relentless attacking. The score line suggests a savage beating, and in some ways it was. I wouldn't quite compare it to when Serena utterly obliterated Maria in 2007, but Azarenka's performance is definitely one of the best from a first-time finalist. Now that she has that monkey off her back, it'll be interesting to see how the other young girls (Wozniacki, Radwanska, Pavlyuchenkova) step up.

Another give, if you were to say that Kvitova has a better game, ie, serve, power, weapons than Sharapova, I would agree.

Convincing win in many ways...very impressed with Vika's mentality out there - digging out of trouble early and then never giving back the reins...Will be good rivalry with Petra...I think the girl that would give Vika the hardest time right now (style-wise) is the one she beat in the semis/

Congratulations VICTORIA, you were finally VICTORIOUS and able to get the monkey of "no slam" off your back. I was always a fan since I've seen her won her first Masters Title in Miami... She played great throughout the tournament and is the best athlete out of the top 10.... Even though I've always had great respect for Maria, I knew Vika will prevail and pocket her 1st slam..... Congratulations!!!!!!! Well desreved!!!!

US open, I think this is a bigger beatdown than the one Serena gave her in 07 because of the bagel set. Serena's was a total slaughter, but this was even worse because Maria looked more like a qualifier than a 3 time GS champion.

@ Samantha Elin

If decided to conjure up the spirits of the dead, don't forget how Maka beat Serena and Shar beat Maka.

So, will Vika stay true to current trend and fall in early rounds of the French Open?

I used to call her "Azacranky". Now she's simply Awesome.

Love her dimples and doughnuts, :)))

Barmeleo, US open stated that the 07 beatdown was greater, I disagreed with him/her because the scoreline was wider in this match. Not sure what Peer, Marka has anything to do with a comparison of the two AO.

and the two opponents(Serena, Vika) which Sharapova has trouble beating.

Tennis won. And most importantly, the athlete won over the model, which can only be a good thing for the future of women's tennis.

A comparison of the two finalists reveals some interesting stats: Azarenka is listed as 5´11´´ (180 cm) and 132 pounds (60 kilos), and plenty of those pounds appear to be muscles in the right places, while she is still clearly not as muscular as a Stosur or a Serena Williams in her prime (and she probably does not need to be). Sharapova is 6´2´´ (188 cm) and 130 pounds (59 kilos). Now that may be fine stats for a fashion model, but in terms of athleticism, Sharapova is simply underweight.

Sharapova's long arms give her great speed in the serve and the forehand, but her insufficient muscle mass gives her limited power in just about everything else, including sprinting, stopping and changing directions. As a result, her movement suffers. Too little muscle also sets her up for injury, as evidenced by that famous rotator cuff tear.

It is interesting that quite many posters have been commenting on Kvitova and her tummy, but I will argue that if Kvitova lost the few extra pounds she is carrying, she would be a hell of a lot more of an athlete than Sharapova ever has been, and she already has the superior game. As for the narrow loss to Sharapova, Maria S had an unusually good day by her recent standards while Petra had a rather bad one, simple as that.

And now that Azarenka has broken her grand slam duck and has all the momentum on her side, Kvitova may be the only player who has enough potential to challenge Azarenka for the slams this year. Kvitova has still to prove her consistency and mental toughness in the longer term though.

Kim is unfortunately prone to injuries and is at the last leg of her career, as is arguably Serena. Li Na is unfortunately a head case, as is Stosur. I doubt that either of these two will win a slam again. Wozniacki? She moves well, but she plays an outdated game of tennis. Unless she improves her serve and starts hitting a much flatter and harder ball, she will struggle to remain in the top 5, maybe even in the top 10. She is already losing against lower ranked but harder hitting opponents at a regular basis, and Clijsters et al have provided the blueprint for beating Wozniacki.

All in all, Vika's victory was the best thing to happen to women's tennis since Petra's Wimbledon victory. Vika is a worthy Number 1.

Vika's composure was awesome in the semis and today. When she went down 2-0 , I think people were expecting a typical meltdown that the young brigade have been prone to in big matches against Serena, Clijsters and Maria.It was really nice to see her hold firm and also play a more all-round game compared to previous years.
Really hope that Kvitova can get over her nervous hiccups and get to the finals consistently. The No 1 and No 2 playing in the GS finals and building a real rivalry is what women's tennis needs
Vika, pls dont have a meltdown after this win that has seen the likes of Ivanovic and many No.1s disappear.

Two horrendous cheaters. At least the match was short. Maybe the audience was spared a visit to an ear specialist.

woeful match. should've gone for a jog instead.

@ Matt W. are you sure that is Sharapova's weight? She does not look underweight to me. In fact she looked bulkier and bigger than Azarenka today. And her mobility looked poor because of her bigger frame rather than her being underweight.
Vika looked lighter on her feet and more mobile, by far. And the athlete looked better than the model. if only she had worn a nice tennis dress instead of those shorts. Svetlana also looked really horrible in those.

Not a fan of Sharapova(her fans are brutal on Caro), but Matt to refer to her as a "model" is unfair. She is an excellent player, achieved a huge amount in a short time. I just think her game doesn't match up well against certain players, similar to Nadal vs Novak's game.

@Samantha

The bagel set is a little irrelevant for me. Maria won three games in both matches, but the way Serena played in that final was just out of this world, hitting winners at will from all over the court. Maria never even had a sniff at a victory during that match. Serena never allowed her to play her game. Azarenka hit 14 winners in the final last night. Serena's annihilation of Maria produced twice as many winners. To be honest, I don't think we'll ever see a grand slam final played so perfectly from a player ever again. I think Serena only had 5 or 6 unforced errors in that match!

Congratulations to Azarenka! I did feel bad for Maria, but when it comes down to it, I enjoyed both their efforts this tournament.

Maria is the last player from the old generation (I know Maria is very young, but her peak was when she was even younger /2004-2008) Now we are watching the rise of the next generation leading by Kvitova and Azarenka (and maybe we can count Caroline, but we have to wait how things is going for her now she's no longer the Nº1) and I guess that will be the new rivalry. I guess now we can understand that Maria was the last star in a very bright tennis era (Serena, Venus, Lindsay, Amelie, Kim, Justine and Maria)

Did anyone else notice that in the first set, Maria's scream was an exact echo of Vika's? She sounded more like herself in the second - up to match point. When she capitulated to the champion by echoing her again.

Oh! To see a Sharapova lost: NO PRICE!!!

Too bad Serena was injured at this year's AO. While Azarenka always battled with Serena at the AO when they played, Serena always won those matchups.

Congratulation to Azarenka and all of her fans.

"Really hope that Kvitova can get over her nervous hiccups and get to the finals consistently. The No 1 and No 2 playing in the GS finals and building a real rivalry is what women's tennis needs"

FedFan,

You're not the only one who is hoping for Petra. Petra really played a DISASTROUS 1st Set against Maria in the Semis and got only got better in the 2nd and 3rd Set...

Contrary to what SamE said Maria didn't serve particularly well on those Break Points in the 3rd Set. Petra just made silly Return Erros on 2nd Serves from Maria.

TennisFed,

You continue your loser's talk. Your Kvi is a loser right now. Who wants to talk about losers. So, as M-life usually says: "Just shut" up with your Petra.

US open, agree with all of what you said, but Vika is no Serena and to see her completely crush Sharapova was shocking. Again, I thought I was watching a first matchup against a qualifier. It didn't have the feel of a final. It was one player destroying another. Huge gap in their play.

"Just shut" up with your Petra.LOL!! I sure didn't see that scoreline coming.

In Pete's last post on Ova the Hump, he compared Vika to Demmy. To me, Sharapova is closer to Demmy. A brilliant ground and return game, but the current form without a serve to get her over the last hurdle. At both Wimbie and now, her second serve really let her down and of course the great play by both Vika and Kvitova.

Samantha Elin: Not a fan of Sharapova(her fans are brutal on Caro)

The "brutalest" guy to Caro is Bodo, and who can say he is a Sharapova's fan? He is the "brutalest" guy to her too. Everybody knows he is fan of the girl with big "love handles".

poor match. one played well the other really poorly. dull.

Excuse me Barmaleo, but who has the big "love handles?

While I figured Azarenka has the edge against Sharapova in an ordinary match, you never know how a player is going to be when they finally get to that first GS final (and the start made that seem a possible issue). Gone are the days when she'd play passively in a big match. She just got better and more comfortable as the match went on.

I think the men's final will be more exciting for the simple fact that it can't be any worse.

"but who has the big "love handles?"

Here is a definition from dictionary:
"love handles: informal, folds of excess fat on either side of the waist"

Dinara used to have some. Among the contemporaries I'm aware only about Czech Tennis Sensation.

Barmaleo,

Too bad for you that Petra won the last for Meetings with Vika, hahahaha...

I still think that Petra is the better Overall Player than Vika is because she has the BIGGER Game...

Vika deserved this win, so did Petra at Wimbledon.

So,

we'll see who the better Player is in the long run. Vika knows that she can't handle an In-Form Petra so she was delighted to play Maria instead.

"I think the men's final will be more exciting for the simple fact that it can't be any worse."

I think it's gonna be very exciting. Rafa is going to turn the tables on Nole. Nole is going to be crashed like Shar.

TennisFed: "we'll see who the better Player is in the long run."

There is no such crap as "the better Player is in the long run."
You are only as good as at last tournament.

If Nole loses, he won't be "crashed" [sic]. But he won't. Lose.

"who has the big "love handles?"

Scandinavia's Number One.

"You are only as good as at last tournament."

Wrong,

Who won the bigger Titles...

Petra won Wimbledon, YEC, Madrid...

Vika won AO, Miami...

"I'm aware only of the Czech sensation." LMAO, Petra does have those handles on the side.

TennisFed: "Wrong"

Some time ago everybody were salivating about Roger. "He is a GOAT! He is a GOAT!", they shouted. And he could be. But he delayed his exit, and now he becoming a serial loser.

"he becoming a serial loser." I can't stop laughing at this.

Womens tennis sucks. 6-3 6-0 in a finals match. What a joke.

tina: If Nole loses, he won't be "crashed" [sic]. But he won't. Lose.

The way Rafa handled Berdich and Roger, and the way Nole escaped the British punishment, let me be sure of Nole's demise.

Wasn't it fun to see Vika win wearing shorts?!!
She has a body/legs, second only to Steffi!! The outfit suited her

LisaM: Wasn't it fun to see Vika win wearing shorts?!!

I wonder, wasn't that some kind of outing?

Weight really has nothing to do with the results and play. I think Dj looks a bit thin, but he is playing very well. Awhile back Nadal looked way too pumped up. He slimmed down and plays the same. Small players can get lots of power with the right technique. And some players, Henin and Schiavone for instance, can beat bigger players using superior footwork, speed and great technique.

Congrats to Az, though that was pathetic from Maria's end. Everett was right; Vika exposed Maria's terrible movement problem. Muscles won't help Maria; footwork and some variety in her game would help the most. I hope Schiavone will be in fine form for the French Open. These baseline bashers are sooooo boring. Of all the baseline bashers, Petra is more exciting for her explosive play. But who knows if she can play with kind of abandon again.

BTW, There is NO WAY the weights are correct for most of the woman players. They must self-report, rather than step on the scale. Maria probably weighs 155-160, and Serena even more, though they both report 130. All women know they are lying. I can't understand why they would. They are all in fine shape (certain love handles excepted) and shouldn't worry about what the number on the scale says. Also Woz looked great with a few pounds dropped, as did Serena.

Awesome match! anyone saying it was crap know s**t about c**p!
Azarenka got back into the match, turned it round and played great tennis in her first slam final a real champion. Only real champs turn from losing bad to winning. Anyone can win playing best and feeling great, she had to make it happen, AWESOME! Anyone who says Sharapova played bad also know c**p about s**t! Everyone know if you play great it makes everyone else look and play bad.
Plus she's a babe, which also helps!

The way Murray played, he probably would have inflicted British punishment on Nadal, too.

But in the end, was it really that much more punishment than Nadal's matches against Berd and Fed? Rafa didn't just skate through them....

womentennisrocks: anyone saying it was crap know s**t about c**p!

So, I assume you know some "s**t about c**p". Please share before I hit the sack.

tina: Rafa didn't just skate through them

90% of Rafa's shots landed at the base line. The intensity he showed I didn't see from him for a long time. I bet he is more motivated to beat Nole than the others. I expect it is going to be spectacular unless Nole decides to fold. I actually thought he was going to do just that against the Scot.

Liked Bodo's line about Vika's BH.

Well we all know this was an extremely disappointing final contest especially given the high quality of play and competitiveness of both semifinals. But it was a gloriously dominant performance from Vika, whose FH I never thought before 2012 was up to the task of winning a major (reminded me of Stosur's BH, which was shored up brilliantly to make her 2 Slam finals).

SamE, just to correct you, Sharapova didn't serve badly at all. 1st serve % was over 65% and she minimized her DFs, had none on important points. But she made many more errors from her groundstrokes than she usually does, esp her BH XC and her FH DTL. Just not sharp enough from the baseline.

If any of the semifinalists had played Maria today they would have won. But probably not by winnign 12 of 13. That was credit to Vika's dominant play.

Very excited to see what more she can do this year. I can only hope she schedules herself wisely so she doesn't burn out. Already 12-0 for the year.

Super classy runner up speech from Maria. Again, so disappointing after playing some of her best tennis in years.

Get bent Barmaleo!
No one gives a damn about you having to add a comment on what we all say.

Agree about the weights. Maria is slim as a reed, but is broad in the shoulder as well. I am 6'2" and am a very fit athletic guy, not overly build, and weigh 195. There's no way I outweigh Maria by 65 lbs.

I'm outta here before you get us banned!

Barmaleo

womentennisrocks, can I have your phone, please. You are so hot!

Northernboy, as I get "drunkier" quite fast and womentennisrocks is not going to give me her number, please, as an expert, give me an answer to my question at at 12:12 PM.

Of course he's more motivated to beat Novak, it could be disastrous for him to lose again!

I like Nadal plenty, but I'm already tired of the introspective, psychobabbly Rafa we've heard for the last 6 months.

"But in this Australian Open final, Azarenka won because of versatility, skill, mobility, and all-around athleticism married with great aplomb and focus."

Indeed. Can't wait to see more of her in GS finals

tina: I like Nadal plenty, but I'm already tired of the introspective, psychobabbly Rafa ...

I didn't realize he is so intelligent. I always thought his secret of success was being a dumb guy. Well, live and learn.

Rafa has built a fearful reputation as a tough fighter, an "animal", a formidable physical specimen; he does himself a disservice, in my opinion, by "baring it all" and discussing details of his recent knee scare and worse, admitting that Djokovic has been a problem for him.

I miss the utterly fearless guy who was strong and silent.

Samantha Elin, why don't you take a look at how far Woz made it this tournament and then decide whether or not you want to talk crap about Maria. Not only did Caroline fall in the quarters (and lost to an INJURED Clijsters) but she fell 3 spots to number 4 BEHIND Maria. Yes, that's right, Maria has now proven that she is a better player than Woz and I doubt Caroline will see that number 1 ranking again.

Shall we also take a look at Caroline's and Maria's first major finals? I'm pretty sure, and correct me if I'm wrong, that Maria crushed Serena Williams to win Wimbledon and Caro was beaten by someone who had just come back from retirement. I don't know if that means much to you, but it certainly does to every sane person in the world.

Anyway, good to see Maria back and being a serious contender for all the majors. Hopefully this loss doesn't have too many negative effects on her. We love you Maria and we wish you the best for the rest of the season which hopefully means a GS title along the way.

"I miss the utterly fearless guy [Nadal] who was strong and silent."

Rafa has never been silent about his injuries. He has always tended to over-disclosure and, yet, was never pegged as an excuse-maker. Just honest.

Matt "Caro was beat by someone who had just come back from retirement. Hey didn't Serena beat Maria in late summer after coming back. Took her in straight easy two setter. Roll on hater!

Women's tennis is so horrible. Screamers, part-timers, no. 1ers who can't hit winners or win slams. Barf. Why equal prize money? Someone explain that cr@p to me. After all they only play 3 sets max.