“I knew he was a dangerous player, and the way he’s been going through the draw made me wonder what did he do different this time around,” Federer said. “Especially the win against Nadal — it kind of shocked me. ... I didn’t believe he was going to beat Rafa so easy.”

Then Gonzalez routed Haas 6-1, 6-3, 6-1.

Federer considered changing strategy against Gonzalez.

“In the end I said, ’You know what, I’ve beaten him nine times, so just take it easy and play your game, and hopefully it is going to work out,”’ Federer said. “It did.”

Gonzalez had the most vocal cheering section Sunday, many with painted faces chanting and blowing whistles and twirling flags as if they were at a soccer game.

Federer, as usual, had thousands of backers, too. One fan, dressed in Swiss red and white, carried a sign that summed up the general feeling: “Federer is betterer.” In the end, he was.

It was close in the beginning.

Gonzalez broke Federer in the ninth game and had set points at 5-4, but was unable to convert the opportunities. Both players agreed that was the turning point.

“I have to congratulate again Roger,” Gonzalez said. “He’s on the way to be maybe the best player ever. He is a great champion who played a really good match today, all week — almost all his life. So I can take a lot out of this tournament.”

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Gonzalez was the biggest mover in the men’s top 10, moving five places to No. 5 with his run to his first Grand Slam final.

Serena Williams won her eighth and most improbable Grand Slam title, beating top-seeded Maria Sharapova 6-1, 6-2 on Saturday in one of the most lopsided finals at the Australian Open. Sharapova left for Tokyo on Sunday, knowing she would assume the No. 1 ranking the following day.

Williams, who played about half as many matches in two weeks at Melbourne Park as she did in an injury-plagued 2006, stuck around to watch the men’s final. She will move from No. 81 to No. 14 and has designs on getting back to No. 1.

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