Venue: Melbourne Park Date: 19 January-1 February
Coverage: Saturday, 0830 GMT, BBC Red Button, Radio 5 Live sports extra, BBC Sport website (Red Button coverage streamed on website); Saturday, 1300-1400 GMT, highlights on BBC One
 Williams has won five of her six meetings with Safina
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Serena Williams and Dinara Safina will meet on Saturday with both the Australian Open title and the world number one ranking at stake.
Williams, the world number two, will be going for her 10th Grand Slam title, while third seed Safina is attempting to win her first.
"I feel like whether I get 10 today or whenever, it's going to happen sooner or later," said Williams.
Safina said: "I proved I can be in the final, now just one more step to go."
Williams, 27, has a 5-1 record against Safina, 22, and goes into the final as a strong favourite.
She has nine Grand Slam titles to her name, including three in Australia, and won the last major crown at the US Open in September.
The American went into that final against Jelena Jankovic in a similar situation, with the number one spot on the line, and having had the top ranking and won many Grand Slams she say the pressure is off.
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She's more focused now, more intense, and you can just totally see the change
Serena on Safina
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"If I win, that would be great. If I lose, I'll just leave with the confidence that I can get far in a tournament when I'm not playing my best and go home and work even harder for the next time.
"Obviously I desperately want to win, and she does too. You know, I feel like whether I get 10 today or whenever, it's going to happen sooner or later."
Safina, the younger sister of 2005 Australian Open men's champion Marat Safin, has admitted to struggling with the mental side of the game, but Williams says the Russian is not alone in that.
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SERENA WILLIAMS
Age: 27
Turned pro: 1995
Height: 5ft 9in
Titles: 32
Grand Slams: 9
Prize money: $22.7m
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She added: "Once you make it to one Grand Slam final, you pretty much know what to expect.
"Seeing as she's already been there, I think if anything she's going to be way more hungry for it and want it even more. That's going to be definitely going for her."
And Williams has been impressed with the Russian's improvement in recent years.
"She's developed a lot," said the American. "She's gotten a lot more confident.
"When she first came, she was so young and so sweet. I mean, she's still sweet now.
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DINARA SAFINA
Age: 22
Turned pro: 2000
Height: 5ft 11.5in
Titles: 9
Grand Slams: 0
Prize money: $5.5m
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Safina is at a career-high ranking of three and has the experience of playing in last year's French Open final, although she was comfortably beaten in Paris by Ana Ivanovic.
"Mentally maybe I was not ready there for the final," said the Russian.
"Just mentally I was really tired because I had too much things going in the French Open, too many tough matches, singles, doubles all together. I was just mentally exhausted there."
She added: "Because it was the first, it was unexpected. Nobody believed I can be there. I was like, 'take one match at a time, one match at a time.'
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If we are fighting for this spot, that says everything, no?
Safina on the number one ranking
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"I hope all the experience I went through in that match will help me for my next match.
"I proved, because the people have been talking about this, I can be in the final. I've done it. Now just one more step to go."
Williams may be the most successful player on the women's tour but Safina insists she will not be intimidated despite her poor record against the American.
"I cannot talk about the other players, how they feel when they play against her, I just can talk on my own," said Safina.
"We played three times last year - I beat her once. I'm looking forward for this time to play against her. "
And Safina has no doubt that, should she win on Saturday, she will be a worthy world number one - and she has her own special plan for a celebration.
"If we are fighting for this spot, that says everything, no?" she said.
"To win and to be number one in the world then, I don't know, I'll go and buy chocolate cake ."
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