That sweet sixteenth

"I don't think I have peaked yet," she said. "Sixteen is a great number and I just want to keep going up and up.

"I don't know whether I will stop at 16 but I definitely want to win a few more."

Evert and Navratilova have already conceded that barring injuries or illness, Williams will surely pass them in the next couple of years.

More immediately, Williams' victory over Sharapova exorcised memories of a painful defeat 12 months ago, when she lost to Virginie Razzano of France in the first round.

Perhaps Williams should thank Razzano, though, because that was the catalyst for her to go on a roll that shows no sign of stopping.

Victory at Wimbledon was followed by Olympic gold, US Open glory and the title at the season-ending WTA Championships.

A quarter-final defeat at the Australian Open stopped her in her tracks, briefly, but yesterday's triumph means she has now won 31 straight matches and 74 wins out of 77 matches since this time last year.

"Honestly, I just was more relaxed this time going in," Williams said.

"I played so well leading up to the French Open last year and the same thing happened again this year but I didn't put any pressure on myself this time.

"I think losing in the first round definitely helped me realise, I have no points to defend. I have nothing to lose. I can just kind of relax and just do what I want to do here."

Having lost to Williams 12 straight times in a losing streak dating back to the end of 2004, Sharapova had promised to try something different this time.

The Russian began superbly, saving four break points in the opening game and then breaking Williams to lead 2-0.

From 40-15 on her own serve in the next game, though, things began to change as Williams found her range, moving Sharapova all over the court and forcing the errors.

The players matched each other with their cries of "Come on" after winning points, and though Williams broke for 3-2, Sharapova dug deep to get back on level terms at 4-4.

But Williams has an extra gear, and after breaking for 5-4, she held easily to take the first set.

Again, Sharapova saved break points in her opening service game but the American broke for 2-1 and this time, no matter how hard the Russian fought, she could not break the American's serve.

Serving for the match at 5-4, Williams hit a backhand winner to move to match point and the stress showed as she stayed in a kneeling position for a few seconds, staring at her support team in the stands.

Two aces had taken her to that point and a third, like the others straight down the middle, gave her victory.

"I was so nervous that I knew I wouldn't be able to hit any groundstrokes," Williams said. "So I told myself, 'Serena, you need to hit some aces'."

As her 10th ace flew past Sharapova, Williams fell to her haunches and put her hands over her face, apparently barely able to believe she had won.

For Sharapova, it took the shine off another impressive week.

"Of course the initial feelings after the match are of disappointment and are that you lost the match no matter how the match went," she said. "But I will take a few little positives from this match.

"I did put up a fight obviously today against her. It was not enough, but she's been playing really great tennis. It's certainly not an excuse, but she is playing extremely well.

"I still have a long summer ahead of us. Some of my favourite tournaments are coming up, so there is a lot to look forward to."

Both women now move on to Wimbledon and Patrick Mouratoglou, who began coaching Williams a year ago, said there was no reason the American would not add more Grand Slam titles to her name.

"Because she keeps this motivation for the game, she is able to win many more for sure," he said.

"I think for Serena, nothing is out of reach. I think if she wants something, it's very difficult to stop her."