Serena Williams emerged victorious at this year's French Open final, defeating Maria Sharapova in a 6-4, 6-4 victory Saturday.

This new victory marks the tennis star's second French Open -- she first won in 2002, beating her sister Venus -- and her 16th major title overall.

Williams came into the Paris event seeking redemption, after crashing out in the first round of last year's tournament. In the year since, Williams regained the No. 1 ranking and has gone 74-3 in all competitions, including a career-best 31 consecutive match wins. She has also picked up numerous victories, winning the titles at Wimbledon and the U.S. Open, and a gold medal at last year's Summer Olympics.

The American began slow, but went on to give a dominating performance on the Court Philippe Chatrier, one that left her Russian opponent slightly off-guard. Sharapova started out 2-0 in the first set, but Williams held on to the competition, managing to outdo her opponent even in terms of gesticulations and fist pumps.

Williams finished up the full match with an ace (her 10th of the final), ending it all after 106 minutes.

Williams and Sharapova are formidable opponents, but Williams has had a definite edge in their match-up history -- the last time she lost to Sharapova was in 2004. This recent victory improves Williams' record to 14-2 against Sharapova (she has beaten her 13 times in a row), and Williams has beaten her four times this year alone.

Williams' recent streak is also notable considering her age. Today's victory makes her the oldest ever winner at Roland Garros in the Open Era; Williams, at 31 years, 256 days, eclipsed seven-time French Open winner Chris Evert, who previously set the record at 31 years, 6 months. Williams is also the oldest woman to win a major tournament, since Martina Navratilova, then age 33, won Wimbledon in 1990.

After the match, while picking up the prestigious Suzanne Lenglen Cup, Williams was asked how she felt about her victory, and she didn't quite seem to believe her achievement.

"I was so nervous, I'm just happy to be champion," she told the crowd.

She later added, in the native tongue, "Je pense que je suis Parisienne," or "I think I'm Parisian."