Serena's Time

After some of the matches we've seen in Melbourne this week - particularly the five hour epic Nadal/Verdasco semi-final - the total whitewash of a women's final was a bit of a letdown. Less than an hour. Complete shellacking. I don't think we're in any doubt who the #1 player in women's tennis is.

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Dinara Safina did not play a bad match. She didn't play a good match either, because she wasn't allowed to play a match at all. She said in her speech when she accepted the runner-up trophy that she was just a ballboy on the court that day, and, horrible as it is, it was pretty true. This was a show of total domination from a player who deserves the top ranking thoroughly.

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So what can you do?

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I wouldn't be surprised at all if we saw a Serena Slam this year. Roland Garros will obviously be the key - and I think Dinara Safina might give her much more of a run for her money there than she did here today - but she's clearly so far ahead of the rest of the pack right now it's pretty ridiculous. She played terribly in the early rounds but got through, then hit her straps against Kuznetsova and never looked back. When she beat Dementieva in straights I guess you sort of knew she was going to win it. Safina never had a look in today. There was nothing she could do. This is Serena's time.

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That said, I think we're going to see a lot more of Dinara. Hopefully we'll see a lot more of Dinara with a slightly better ball toss. I think she's a real shot to win Roland Garros this year and her first Slam has got to be right around the corner. She was an excellent sport about the beatdown she received today - and hopefully one day soon she can be the one doing the beating. But today is Serena's day. Congratulations to the well-deserved #1 in women's tennis!
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Australian Open

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Women's Draw

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Serena Williams def. Dinara Safina, 6-0 6-3