Summary Serena Williams beat Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova 6-2, 6-1 in the Brisbane International final.
Serena Williams proved the break between seasons hasn t hurt her momentum, capturing her 47th career title with a comprehensive 6-2, 6-1 victory over Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova on Saturday in the Brisbane International final.
Williams has won 35 of her past 36 matches, including titles at Wimbledon, the Olympics, the U.S. Open, the season-ending championship and now the first event of 2013.
She already has won the Australian Open five times, and with the season s first major a little more than a week away, she s in good shape to add another one.
The Brisbane final was all over in 50 minutes on Saturday night, with Williams dictating terms from the first break of serve in the sixth game.
Williams said she s been concentrating on being calm and composed, and has started to feel "serene" when she s in her zone on court. She s been feeling that way a lot in the amazing comeback since her first-round exit at the French Open, her earliest ever loss at a Grand Slam event.
In the men s draw, defending champion Andy Murray advanced to the final when fifth-seeded Kei Nishikori retired with an injured left knee while trailing 6-4, 2-0 in their semifinal earlier Saturday.
The Olympic and U.S. Open champion will next meet 21-year-old Grigor Dimitrov, who is starting to live up to his billing as a star-in-the-making by reaching his first ATP Tour final with a 6-3, 5-7, 7-6 (5) victory over Marcos Baghdatis.
