MELBOURNE, Australia -- It's been five years since Serena Williams won the last of her five Australian Open singles titles. Maria Sharapova's one and only trophy at Melbourne Park came in 2008 when she defeated Ana Ivanovic.
This year's final at Rod Laver Arena will feature a No. 1 (Williams) against a No. 2 (Sharapova) for the first time at Melbourne Park since 2004, when top-seeded Justin Henin defeated No. 2 Kim Clijsters in an all-Belgium final.
The 33-year-old Williams, who has won all five times she's reached the final, will be the oldest player to reach the championship match in Australia in the Open era. She last won the title here in 2010, beating Henin.
It will be Sharapova's fourth trip to the final here -- as well as winning in 2008, she was comprehensively outplayed by Williams in 2007 and by Victoria Azarenka in 2012.
Williams' preparation for the final has been affected by a cold that has been bothering her for four or five days. On Friday, she was an hour late for morning training, abandoned it, then went back for an afternoon session.
"Yes, I had a false start (this morning), I wasn't feeling really well," Williams said. "I've been sick with a cold all week, and I got better, then I got worse this morning. So I just had to go back (to the hotel), relax and take a nap, rejuvenate my body. I rescheduled practice for this afternoon. It went well this afternoon, I felt better."
The men's doubles final will follow the women's championship match, with the French pair of Pierre-Hugues Herbert and Nicolas Mahut taking on Italy's Simone Bolelli and Fabio Fognini.
Here are some things to watch in the women's final Saturday:
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CAREER DOMINANCE: It's not a very pretty head-to-head stats sheet for Sharapova and her team to ponder -- the U.S.-based Russian has lost her last 15 matches against Williams. Her only two wins in their 18 career meetings were in 2004, although one of them came in the Wimbledon final that year, the first of Sharapova's five Grand Slam titles. The 2007 loss to Williams in the Australian Open final was 6-1, 6-2, one of Sharapova's worst in any Grand Slam match. They last met at a major in the 2013 French Open final, when Williams won 6-4, 6-4.
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GETTING THERE: Williams was taken to three sets in her third-round match against No. 26 Elina Svitolina and in her fourth-rounder against Garbine Muguruza, but won her quarterfinals and semifinals in straight sets over Dominika Cibulkova, last year's finalist, and 19-year-old American Madison Keys. Sharapova nearly went out in the second round to Russian qualifier Alexandra Panova, who forced her to save two match points. From there, it's been straight-set wins over seeded players including Eugenie Bouchard and Ekaterina Makarova.
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SERENA SPEAKS: On Sharapova: "Maria is playing great. She's in the tournament only because she's a fighter and only because she refuses to give up. She has nothing to lose."
On her 2005 Australian Open semifinal win (2-6, 7-5, 8-6) over Sharapova: "The only thing I remember is the inside-out forehand on match point. I hit it for a winner. I hit it and I walked to the next side as if I knew it was already going to be a winner. "
On No. 1 vs. No. 2: "I think it's great for women's tennis, good for me and Maria. I love playing her. I look forward to it. I didn't expect to get to the finals of this tournament when I first got here because I wasn't playing great. So I'm happy to be here."
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MARIA SPEAKS: On Williams: "Her power and her aggressiveness, I think that's always made me a little bit too aggressive. Some (matches) I've had my chances that I didn't necessarily take. She's someone who makes you go for a little bit more than you would like."
On her 2005 Australian Open semifinal loss: "I don't actually remember too much of it. It was a very physical battle. It was tough to lose that one. Definitely had a lot of chances. "
On being nervous: "I think we wouldn't be human if we didn't feel extra nerves. Of course, I think nerves equals excitement in a certain way because you know something pretty big is ahead of you. I feel like it's been a really long time since I've won this title here and it would be extremely meaningful for me to hold the trophy."