BELARUS's VICTORIA AZARENKA IS THE NEW AUSTRALIAN OPEN CHAMPION AND WORLD NUMBER ONE. We are now ending our Live Report coverage of the women's final.
1025 GMT: Azarenka will be confirmed as world number one in the new women's rankings released next week, ending Caroline Wozniacki's long stay at the top.
1019 GMT: Accepting her trophy as Australian Open Champion, the new World Number 1 Azarenka says her dreams have come true and jokes with the crowd. She says she expects to see Sharapova in "many more finals" .
She is the first Belarusian to win a grand slam title, going one better than Natasha Zvereva, who finished runner up at the French Open in 1998.
1016 GMT: Three-time Australian Open women's champion Martina Hingis is on the podium to present the winner's trophy to Azarenka and the runner up to Sharapova.
In her acceptance speech Sharapova praises Azarenka for being better "on so many levels" but to enjoy her victory "while she can". She vows to be back.
1010 GMT: AFP's Weaver watching in Melbourne writes: "Azarenka looks stunned. She can't believe it. Australian Open champion and new world number one!
"Sharapova sits stunned, scarcely able to take in her mauling as the stadium lights dim for the presentation ceremony"
1005 GMT: Azarenka claims the championship, destroying Sharapova 6-3; 6-0 to win the Australian Open title and the top spot of World Number 1 on the tennis rankings.
1002 GMT: "The crowd have had nothing to get their teeth into here. Azarenka, on the brink of her first grand slam title serves for the championship," says Weaver.
1000 GMT: On The Australian Open Twitter site: RT : Rooting for Sharapova simply so the match can be longer.
0955 GMT: Contested line calls appear to be dominating the match with Hawkeye being repeatedly used to confirm whether the ball is in or out. Meanwhile Sharpova's grunt appears more of a shriek than her previous wail as Azarenka reaches a 5-0 lead in the second set.
0950 GMT: Commentators on the match seem to be in agreement - the match is slipping away from Sharapova. Second set is now at 4-0 to a very consistant Azarenka.
0949 GMT: "Sharapova looked pretty miserable as she sat down to munch on an energy bar, mulling how to find a way back into the match," AFP's Weaver writes.
0947 GMT: Sharpova's frustration at her own mistakes is showing, after sending a forehand into the net she set about banging her strings with her hand.
0945 GMT: On The Australian Open Twitter site: Fast women's final at this rate :( RT : Anyone else blown away by 's composure right now?
0940 GMT: "The grunting's louder than the crowd inside Rod Laver Arena at the moment. This match needs something to lift the atmosphere," says Weaver courtside.
0933 GMT: Azarenka remains on top to claim the first match of second set.
0932 GMT: Errors from Sharapova cost her the first set with Azarenka winning 6-3. Sharapova's error count is at 15 so far compared to Azarenka's nine after 49 minutes of battle.
0925 GMT: Among the dignitaries in the crowd watching the final are Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard (C), fully recovered after losing her shoe, and New Zealand Prime Minister John Key. Close by the leaders is former tennis champion Margaret Court, who has caused controversy during the Open with her comments on homosexuality.
Martina Navratilova Friday questioned whethear Margaret Court had had "feelings for women" as she renewed her attack on the Australian great's staunch opposition to gay marriage. The 18-time major-winner said Court's statement that homosexuality was a choice suggested she may have wrestled with the issue. Court's stance against same-sex unions has drawn threats of protests at the Australian Open.
0917 GMT: The tables have turned and Azarenka appears to have Sharapova on the run. The first set so far has Azarenka 4-3.
0912 GMT: So far Azarenka is winning more than 59% of points on her first serve and also appears in charge of the rallies from the baseline.
0902: With the first set reaching 2-2 Azarenka seems to have relaxed and found her stride, while Sharapova slipped firing a shot too long. Hawkeye is called upon to confirm.
0900 GMT: On The Australian Open Twitter site: comments: "Sharapova appears to have toned down the grunting...."
0856 GMT: Azarenka fights back to win third match.
0852 GMT: Sharapova wins second match.
0849 GMT: Pam Shriver, courtside for ESPN, says someone in the crowd shouted out "turn down the volume" at the two renowned screamers.
0847 GMT: Sharapova wins the first match - now to serve.
0842 GMT: "Not a titter in the warm up between Maria and Victoria," tweets the Neil Harman from London's Times newspaper. Both players are renowned for their grunting on court.
0839 GMT: The winner of the match, moments away from starting, will walk away with a purse of AUS$ 2.3 million (US$2.4 million).
0831 GMT: Here come the players. Azarenka, with earphones in, is in a yellow hoodie. Sharapova, wearing a lime-green visor, is first to emerge. Sharapova wins the toss and decides to receive. Azarenka is to serve first.
0830 GMT: A shaft of evening sunlight has entered the Rod Laver Arena as the retractable roof is slowly opened. "We're moments away now from the players' entry," says Weaver.
0828 GMT: The women's trophy has been lowered from the ceiling of the stadium to be collected by former world number one Martina Hingis.
0826 GMT: "We're well under way with the pre-match entertainment. Amid dimmed lights, a choir of purple and pink-clad singers surrounds the court before we're into the Australian national anthem," Harris, our man on the ground says.
0822 GMT: Azarenka's meltdowns are so notorious they can be seen on YouTube, but the 22-year-old Belarusian is showing" new-found resilience and could be ready for her major breakthrough", says correspondent Andrew Dent.
Ahead of the finial the likeable Belarusian joked with the media about her past problems. "I had, how do you call it, meltdowns? There you go."
"Yeah, I had some. For sure you can see some on YouTube. But, you know, I grow as a player, I grow as a person, and I try to learn from my mistakes and make it better. So I'm proud of what I'm doing. I just want to keep going and keep raising that level."
0812 GMT: The match has been described in the popular media as the "Scream Queen final, where every shot will be heard around the world."
Sharapova and Azarenka are two of the game's most notorious shriekers, says AFP's Talek Harris, who is also covering the final. Their match comes just days after the WTA launched a crackdown on the unladylike grunting which has long been a source of debate and innuendo.
During the match, Australia's Channel Seven TV has said it will use its Whoo! Meter, which has already clocked Azarenka at 91.4 decibels -- the equivalent of a passing truck.
Harris reports that headline writers have gone to town, with the Herald Sun calling the pair the "squeal deal" and Britain's Independent saying they are vying to be crowned "princess of wails".
0805 GMT: Watching the pre-match preparations in the court is AFP's John Weaver, who reports: "The roof has been closed for the pre-match entertainment as the crowds file into the Rod Laver Arena, shutting out the last of the evening sun. It'll be reopened for the main event."
WELCOME TO THE AUSTRALIAN OPEN WOMEN'S FINAL: Former champion Russia's Maria Sharapova is taking on Belarus's Victoria Azarenka in the singles final, with the world number one ranking also at stake.
Sharapova, 24, is playing her sixth grand slam final and bidding for her fourth major title after wins at Wimbledon (2004), the US Open (2006) and the Australian Open (2008).
Sharapova burst onto the scene as a 17-year-old when she won Wimbledon. But in August 2008 she needed major shoulder surgery which kept her out of the sport for almost a year. It took the glamorous Russian just over two years to get back into serious contention at a grand slam, reaching the final four at last year's French Open and then the Wimbledon final, where she fell to Czech Petra Kvitova.
Azarenka, 22, who emerged three years ago when she won her first WTA tournament in Brisbane, is playing in a major final for the first time. She has now claimed nine titles on the women's tour but her previous best at a grand slam was reaching the semi-finals of Wimbledon last year. The Belarusian has a reputation for breaking down emotionally during tight matches but said those problems are now in the past.
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