Britain's Andy Murray faced down his Grand Slam nemesis Roger Federer in an electrifying five-set thriller to reach the Australian Open final on Friday night.
Azarenka's 6-3, 6-0 win over three-time grand slam winner Maria Sharapova was the 22-year-old's first triumph at a major championships, and will also put her the top of the next women's rankings list released on Monday.
Novak Djokovic won his third Australian Open title after beating Rafael Nadal of Spain in a historic final on Sunday. 
Nadal: Record final has banished mental demons Djokovic: Nadal pushed me to the edge
Belarus's Victoria Azarenka swept imperiously to her first Grand Slam title and the world No 1 ranking on Saturday when she demolished Maria Sharapova in the Australian Open final.
Chris Evert (USA) - Nov 3, 1975 Nov 24, 1985; Evonne Goolagong (AUS) - Apr 26, 1976 May 9, 1976; Martina Navratilova (USA) - Jul 10, 1978 Aug 16, 1987; Tracy Austin (USA) - Apr 7, 1980 Nov 17, 1980; Steffi Graf (GER) - Aug 17, 1987 Mar 30, 1997; Monica Seles (USA) - Mar 11, 1991 Nov 24, 1996; Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario (ESP)- Feb 6, 1995 Jun 11, 1995; Martina Hingis (SUI) - Mar 31, 1997 Oct 14, 2001; Lindsay Davenport (USA) - Oct 12, 1998 Jan 29, 2006; Jennifer Capriati (USA) - Oct 15, 2001 Jun 9, 2002; Venus Williams (USA)- Feb 25, 2002 Jul 7, 2002; Serena Williams (USA) - Jul 8, 2002 Oct 10, 2010; Kim Clijsters (BEL) - Aug 11, 2003 Feb 14, 2011; Justine Henin (BEL) - Oct 20, 2003 May 18, 2008; Amelie Mauresmo (FRA) - Sep 13, 2004 Nov 12, 2006; Maria Sharapova (RUS) - Aug 22, 2005 Jun 8, 2008; Ana Ivanovic (SEB) - Jun 9, 2008 Sep 7, 2008; Jelena Jankovic (SEB) - Aug 11, 2008 Feb 1, 2009; Dinara Safina (RUS) - Apr 20, 2009 Nov 1, 2009; Caroline Wozniacki (DEN) - Oct 11, 2010 Jan 29, 2012; * Victoria Azarenka (BLU) - Jan 30, 2012
Motivated by recent successes and a surge in interest, Asian junior tennis is riding a surge that could produce more players like Li Na and Kei Nishikori.
China's top junior ace has set her sights on becoming the country's own Agnieszka Radwanska.
Victoria Azarenka of Belarus outclassed Maria Sharapova from Russia in her first Australian Open singles final to lift her maiden Grand Slam title and become the new world No 1 in women's tennis.
Defending champion Novak Djokovic dug deep on Friday to see off Britain's Andy Murray in a thrilling five-set semifinal at the Australian Open.
On one side is the 'haaah', and on the other is the 'aaagh', and in between, a bit of tennis. Welcome to the scream queen final, where every shot will be heard around the world.
Li Na is definitely China's leading tennis player, but count out veteran Zheng Jie at your peril.
Rafael Nadal reached his fourth consecutive Grand Slam final after overcoming old foe Roger Federer 6-7, 6-2, 7-6, 6-4 here on Thursday at the Australian Open.
Rafael Nadal once again proved Roger Federer's Grand Slam nemesis on Thursday, withstanding a withering opening from the Swiss great to reach the final of the Australian Open.
Copyright 1995 - . All rights reserved. The content (including but not limited to text, photo, multimedia information, etc) published in this site belongs to China Daily Information Co (CDIC). Without written authorization from CDIC, such content shall not be republished or used in any form. Note: Browsers with 1024*768 or higher resolution are suggested for this site.
License for publishing multimedia online 0108263 Registration Number: 130349 
