Serena Williams beat Maria Sharapova to win her sixth Australian Open and 19th Grand Slam title, BBC Sport reports.

The American world number one, 33, served superbly to win a pulsating final 6-3 7-6 (7-5) after Sharapova fought back in the second set.

Williams moves past Martina Navratilova and Chris Evert with a 19th major singles title.

She has now beaten Russia's Sharapova, the world number two, 16 times in a row dating back to 2004.