Serena Williams once again proved to the world why she is such a dominant force in women's tennis when she beat comeback Belgian star Justine Henin in three gruelling sets to win her fifth Australian Open crown, a record in the Open era.

Re-live the brilliance of Serena's power performance in the final, click here.

Williams started the match on a high note and broke Henin early on to race to a 4-1 lead in the match. Henin made a mini-comeback but lost her serve once again to give Serena the opener by 6 games to 4.

The second set saw a major shift in momentum when Henin broke Williams twice to level the match at one set a piece. Things looked extremely competitive in the start of the decider when a quick trade of serves saw both players testing each other to limits. But as the match progressed, Williams got an upper hand in the decider and cruised to a 6-4, 3-6, 6-2 victory.

With a win, Williams created a record in the open era for most Australian Open wins. She also emulated Billie Jean King's Grand Slam tally of 12 majors which she considers an honour.

Today's victory gave Williams a hefty winner's check of AUD 2.0 million and the beautiul Daphne Akhurst trophy. Soon after her win, Williams raced to the player's box to hug her mother Oracene Price and sister Venus, who cheered her throughout the match.

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