MELBOURNE, Australia - Marat Safin kept Russia's Grand Slam streak intact.

Safin won the Australian Open in the first night final on Sunday, beating home favorite Lleyton Hewitt and continuing what three of his female compatriots started by winning the last three Grand Slam events of 2004.

After losing two of the last three finals at Melbourne Park, Safin defeated Hewitt 1-6, 6-3, 6-4, 6-4, but struggled through a subpar start. A Russian man or woman has won at each of the last four Grand Slam events, with Safin joining Maria Sharapova (Wimbledon), Anastasia Myskina (French Open) and Svetlana Kuznetsova (U.S. Open).

"The first set, you really couldn't call it tennis," the fourth-seeded Safin said. "I couldn't serve. I couldn't run. I didn't believe I could play that badly."

But by the end, Safin was back at the top of his game, an effort that embodied his comeback from injuries that dropped the former world No. 1 and 2000 U.S. Open champion to 86th just over a year ago.

"It's psychological - you start to have doubts, like really I could do this or not," said Safin, a player known for his racket-busting outbursts. "It's the third time, you get so nervous, so uptight.

"I don't want to lose it," he added. "Nobody cares about the (losing) finalist - so it was just a kind of a relief. "

Safin made a single, jubilant fist pump after Hewitt hit a forehand out on match point, and said the victory wouldn't really sink in until he was back in his hotel room with the trophy.

Now Safin can look to the future, knowing he has proven that his critics - those who questioned whether he would win another major - didn't know what they were talking about.

Just as important, he proved to himself, and the rest of the world, that top-ranked Roger Federer is beatable after ending his 26-match winning streak in the semifinals.

"Once you beat him, and then you beat Lleyton, you get so much confidence in yourself that you really can play great, you can win big titles and you can beat huge players in the finals and semifinals," Safin said.

It's the same feeling Serena Williams has after winning the women's title Saturday, silencing the people who said she and sister Venus were slipping.

In winning her seventh Grand Slam title, but first in 18 months, Williams put her distinctive stamp back on the women's game, defeating the fourth-, second- and top-seeded players in her last three matches.

Williams' three-set victory over Sharapova in the semifinals also avenged her loss in the Wimbledon final last year and set the stage for a new rivalry in women's tennis. Williams will rise to No. 2 in the new rankings and already has her sights set on the French Open - and the top spot.

Sharapova's title was bracketed by Myskina's French Open title and Kuznetsova's U.S. Open championship. With five winners in the last five Grand Slams, the variety at the top of the women's game bodes well for the future, especially after 2004 Australian Open winner Justine Henin-Hardenne and runner-up Kim Clijsters come back from injuries.

Hewitt, who put in months of preparation in his effort to become the first Australian man to win the Open since Mark Edmondson on the grass courts of Kooyong in 1976, was downcast after losing to Safin.

"I'm human and I'm disappointed - to come that close, train so hard to put yourself in a position - it's hard to take at the moment," said Hewitt, who will replace Andy Roddick at No. 2 in the rankings.

Hewitt had reasons to feel good. Shortly after his loss, he proposed to his girlfriend, actress Rebecca Cartwright. A statement released by the couple said he gave Cartwright an engagement ring within hours after the match.

Other Australians had pretty good tournaments, too.

Scott Draper and Samantha Stosur, a wild-card pair playing together for the first time, won the mixed doubles earlier Sunday, defeating Kevin Ullyett of Zimbabwe and Liezel Huber of South Africa 6-2, 2-6, 7-6 (6). Stosur was scheduled to play with another player, who withdrew on the day before the tournament.

Draper, also a professional golfer, had to juggle sports over the past four days, playing in his first pro golf event Friday morning and winning his mixed doubles semifinal on Friday afternoon. He missed the cut in the Victoria Open. The last round finished Sunday - as the mixed doubles final was being played.

Australia's Alicia Molik, who lost to Lindsay Davenport in the singles semifinals with a questionable call playing a key role, teamed with Kuznetsova to win the women's doubles by beating Davenport and Corina Morariu, back on the circuit after being diagnosed with leukemia 31/2 years ago.

On Saturday, Ullyett and Wayne Black won their second Grand Slam doubles title, defeating Americans Bob Bryan and Mike Bryan.