Brisbane: Serena Williams won the Brisbane International tennis tournament on Saturday after blasting her opponent Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova off the court.
Williams took just 51 minutes to defeat the Russian, winning 6-2, 6-1 to extend a streak of winning her last three tournaments and display good form ahead of the Australian Open later this month.
The American has won her last 17 matches and has dropped a set only once in that time, during her three-set win over Victoria Azarenka in the U.S. Open final in August.
Williams was invulnerable on serve against world No. 36 Pavlyuchenkova, offering the Russian no break points and winning 90 percent of points on her first serve, with nine aces.
Williams has beaten Pavlyuchenkova in all four of their meetings to date.
The $1 million Brisbane International is the first Premier tournament of the season, combining an ATP men`s and WTA women`s event. The hard-court tournament is regarded as a major warm-up event for the Australian Open.
World No. 3 Andy Murray faces Bulgaria`s Grigor Dimitrov in the men`s final Sunday.
IANS
First Published: Saturday, January 05, 2013, 19:49