If the first tournament of the year is any indication, Maria Sharapova could be poised to put an end to 15 in '15.
Reuters reported that the Russian and No. 2 player in the world captured a hard-fought three-set victory over Ana Ivanovic in the finals of the Brisbane International over the weekend for her 34th career WTA title.
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Sharapova, who had lost just nine games in the three matches before the final, extended her streak of winning at least one WTA event per year to 15 years, Reuters reported.
The tournament was a warmup for the Australian Open that begins on Jan. 19. Sharapova is seeking her first title there since 2008 when she also beat Ivanovic.
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"I played four good matches against very different types of opponents," Sharapova said. "I couldn't have asked for better preparation."
While Sharapova was showing herself to be in strong preseason form, her nemesis Williams has struggled to start 2015. The No. 1 player has won two and lost two matches at the Hopman Cup. Three of her matches went three sets, and the other one was a 6-3, 6-1 loss to Eugenie Bouchard in just 50 minutes.
Williams holds a 16-2 head-to-head advantage over Sharapova and has won 15 straight matches against the Russian. Sharapova last defeated Williams in the championship match of the WTA Tour Finals in 2004.
Sharapova had a chance to surpass Williams as the No. 1 player in the world during last year's season-ending WTA Finals in Singapore. Sharapova, however, failed to finish ahead of Serena, who won the event.
Sharapova didn't even get out of pool play to advance into the final four for a chance to take on Williams.
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