Belarusian tennis star, Victoria Azarenka, beat Russian former World No. 1 Maria Sharapova, in a lopsided match, to win the 2012 Australian Open Women's Singles title.
Azarenka, 22, beat Sharapova, 24, in an hour and twenty-two minutes - 6-3, 6-0 - on Saturday.
This is Azarenka's first major singles title. Her previous best at a major title was a semi-finals appearance at the 2011 Wimbledon Championships, where she lost to eventual champion Petra Kvitova of the Czech Republic. Sharapova, meanwhile, was looking for her fourth Grand Slam title.
The Belarusian, with this win, will take over the title of World No. 1, from Dane Caroline Wozniacki, on Jan. 30. Incidentally, she is also the first female Belarusian to win a Grand Slam.
Check out photographs of a delighted Azarenka with her trophy...
Victoria Azarenka of Belarus kisses her trophy as she celebrates after defeating Maria Sharapova of Russia in their women's singles final match at the Australian Open tennis tournament in Melbourne, on January 28.REUTERS/Tim WimborneVictoria Azarenka of Belarus (L) and Maria Sharapova of Russia pose with their trophies after their women's singles final match at the Australian Open tennis tournament in Melbourne, on January 28.REUTERS/Mark BlinchVictoria Azarenka of Belarus poses with her trophy after defeating Maria Sharapova of Russia in their women's singles final match at the Australian Open tennis tournament in Melbourne, on January 28.REUTERS/Tim WimborneVictoria Azarenka of Belarus kisses her trophy as she celebrates after defeating Maria Sharapova of Russia in their women's singles final match at the Australian Open tennis tournament in Melbourne, on January 28.REUTERS/Tim WimborneVictoria Azarenka of Belarus poses with her Australian Open tennis tournament women's singles trophy, next to the Yarra River in Melbourne, on January 29.REUTERS/Daniel MunozVictoria Azarenka of Belarus poses with her Australian Open tennis tournament women's singles trophy and the trophy for being WTA World No. 1, standing next to the Yarra River in Melbourne, on January 29.REUTERS/Daniel MunozVictoria Azarenka of Belarus celebrates, next to the Yarra River, with champagne during a photo call, after winning the women’s single title at the Australian Open tennis tournament, in Melbourne on January 29.REUTERS/Daniel Munoz
