BRISBANE, Australia -- This was one time Serena Williams didnt mind being pushed into the deep end, to use her own description. The top-ranked Williams carried her winning momentum from 2013 into the new season, beating No. 2-ranked Victoria Azarenka 6-4, 7-5 on Saturday to defend her title at the Brisbane International and set the tone for the Australian Open. She extended her winning streak to 22 matches with the emphatic win over the reigning Australian Open champion, making it back-to-back victories over two of her main rivals. She beat four-time major winner Maria Sharapova in straight sets in an intense semifinal, her 14th consecutive win in that frosty duel. She improved to 14-3 against Azarenka, the last person to beat her last year. Before the semifinals, Williams said there was nothing like being "thrown into the deep end straight away." Having come through those challenges, she thought it was the ideal season-opening tournament. "It was a great test. It showed me where my level was," Williams said, looking ahead to the Australian Open. "Im happy I was able to play both Maria and Victoria, because they brought their A games against me. I know now what I need to do for Melbourne -- I look forward to it." The years first major starts Jan. 13 at Melbourne Park and Williams, who won 78 of her 82 matches and collected 11 titles last year, is positioning herself as the favourite to claim a sixth Australian title after winning a tournament featuring six of the top 10 women. Williams has so many trophies now, she said she doesnt know where they all are -- "some are MIA" -- but that doesnt stop her from collecting more. This was her 58th, including 17 majors. Immediately after the loss, Azarenka said she hopes to face Williams again in Melbourne -- as the top two ranked players, they can only meet in the final. "I cant say Im satisfied today, but I want to take the positive, what Ive done today, and build from here towards the next week," Azarenka said. "This is the first week where you really test yourself where your game is at, and from here you can take the positives and the things that you have to work on and really go after that." Williams earned the first break in the seventh game and hit fired consecutive aces to finish off the first set in 37 minutes. She went up a break immediately in the second set before Azarenka won four straight games to take a 4-2 lead. Williams, who was comparatively silent against a screeching opponent for the second straight night, let out a scream of relief and satisfaction after hitting an overhead winner to break back in the seventh game. And she yelled and pumped her arm again after converting a break in the 11th game with a backhand down line. Serving for the championship, Williams started with two aces -- her 10th and 11th -- and then hit a service winner to set up two championship points at 40-15. She fired an unreturnable serve to finish it off. The Williams sisters were hoping to both win a WTA Tour event in the same week for the first time in 15 years, but Ana Ivanovic prevented that when she beat Venus Williams 6-2, 5-7, 6-4 in the final of the ASB Classic in Auckland, New Zealand. It was the end of a personal drought for second-seeded Ivanovic, who claimed her 12th career singles title and her first since Bali in 2011. Venus Williams was the crowds sentimental favourite after reaching the final of her first tournament since September. After a long struggle with injury and illness, her form in Auckland supported her claim that she is fitter and healthier than she has been in years. The mens final in Brisbane on Sunday will feature two 32-year-old former No. 1s. Top-seeded Roger Federer and Lleyton Hewitt earned three-set semifinal victories to advance, renewing a rivalry that stretches back to the last millennium. Federer beat No. 8-seeded Jeremy Chardy 6-3, 6-7 (3), 6-3 immediately after Hewitts 5-7, 6-4, 6-3 win over second-seeded Kei Nishikori of Japan in sweltering heat topping 40 Celsius (104 F). The pair have met 26 times dating back to 1999, with Federer leading 18-8 including 16 of the last 17. Pedro Chelsea Jersey . Pillar is batting .305 with 17 extra-base hits, 19 RBI and five stolen bases in 34 games for Buffalo this season. The right-handed hitter had an International League high, 18-game hitting streak this season and currently owns an IL high 26-game on base streak. Alvaro Morata Chelsea Jersey . After a 10-game skid, winning sure feels good. Atlantas third error in the last two innings allowed Jackie Bradley Jr. http://www.chelseafcproshop.com/Kids-Callum-Hudson-Odoi-Jersey/ . He just didnt expect them to be this good. Darrun Hilliard scored 19 points to lead No. 6 Villanova to a dominating 77-59 victory over Georgetown on Saturday, preserving the Wildcats hopes of a No. Cesc Fabregas Jersey . Pinch-hitter Tommy Medica singled in the go-ahead run in the eighth inning and the Padres beat the Seattle Mariners 2-1 in their first home game since Gwynn died of cancer Monday. Marcos Alonso Jersey . 25 against Miami. Hillis left Browns Stadium about two hours before kickoff, a decision that has led to speculation he was upset over ongoing negotiations with the club on a contract extension.SALT LAKE CITY -- Sacramento blew a big lead in the fourth quarter and the Kings began to show that look of defeat. "You saw it on everybodys face. It was like Here we go again," Isaiah Thomas said. "But I just told guys, Lets just stick together. Win or lose, lets stick together this time." Thomas noticed his teammates started keeping their heads up. He saw something different in their eyes. "We stayed together and fought hard. We fought until the end," said Thomas, who scored 23 of his 26 points after halftime to help the Kings snap a six-game skid with a 112-102 overtime victory against the Utah Jazz on Saturday night. "I just wanted to be aggressive and make some plays. I saw some openings and took what the defence gave to try and get myself going. That set up everything else," Thomas said. After early foul trouble, DeMarcus Cousins finished with 28 points, dominating the paint in overtime. "We stayed poised. Usually when we get in those situations, we kind of get in a panic mode and make the situation worse," Cousins said. Trey Burke gave the Jazz their final lead at 102-101 with a 3-pointer, but the Kings scored the final 11 points of overtime. Burke finished with 19 points and 10 rebounds. Thomas clinched it when he stole the ball from Alec Burks and got a return pass from Cousins for a layup to give the Kings a 110-102 lead with 57 seconds left. "It was a big play. I didnt think Burks was going to pass it, so I helped more than I usually would," Thomas said. "I got my hands on it and then DeMarcus made a good play by throwing the ball ahead." Kings guard Ben McLemore made a 3-pointer with 3.2 seconds left in regulation to tie the game at 97-97. "Isaiah was telling me after the huddle that I was going to hit a big shot," McLemore said. "And I thought I was going to make it even though I had missed a couple of 3s earlier." Thomas added, "He knocked down the biggest shot of his NBA career so far." Gordon Hayward had 22 points for Utah, but didnt score in overtime. The Jazz were missing injured starters Derrick Favours and Marvin Williams. Thomas made two free throws to cut the Jazz lead tto 93-92 with 37.dddddddddddd seconds remaining. Burke and Burks each converted two free throws apiece in the final 18.2 seconds around Cousins inside shot before McLemore hit his big 3. "Weve been waiting on one of those from Ben," Cousins said. Burkes runner at the regulation buzzer bounced off the back of the iron. Burke scored five points to spark a 16-0 Jazz run in the fourth quarter that erased Sacramentos nine-point lead. Hayward capped the run with back-to-back jumpers and a free throw to make it 91-84 with 2:59 to play. "It hurts. We had the game," Hayward said. The Jazz and the Kings entered the night tied with Milwaukee for the fewest wins (4) in the NBA. Four of the defeats in the Kings six-game skid were by a combined 11 points and they looked ready to turn a corner. McLemore followed his career-high 20 points in Los Angeles with 15 points and nine rebounds against the Jazz. All the losing precipitated an impromptu team meeting at a Salt Lake City hotel Saturday morning. Sacramento coach Mike Malone asked his players for input on how they could change course. "I said we need to be tougher to guard," Thomas said. "Everybody spoke on it and Coach accepted it. And it worked. We ran a couple different plays to get DeMarcus the ball and it opened the floor." Cousins overcame early foul trouble and was extremely efficient in 28 minutes, going 10 of 15 from the field. Favours, a potential foil for Cousins who had started all 21 games this season for the Jazz, sat out with a sore lower back. "We got their bigs in foul trouble. We caught a little bit of a break with Favours not being healthy, so we wanted to establish DeMarcus in the post, feed off of him," Malone said. NOTES: Cousins committed two fouls in the first minute of the game and Utahs Mike Harris had five fouls before halftime. Harris and Jeremy Evans both fouled out in regulation and Enes Kanter fouled out in overtime. ... In the first quarter, the Kings twice intentionally fouled Andris Biedrins, a career 50 per cent free throw shooter. Biedrins made 1 of 6 from the line. ... Cousins lost his trademark headband late in the fourth quarter on a hard foul by Kanter. ' ' '