Serena Williams ruined the hopes of the French crowd by thrashing local favourite Amelie Mauresmo 6-3 6-2 in the final of the Open Gaz de France in Paris on Sunday.

The World number one needed just 70 minutes to extend her WTA Tour winning streak to 11 matches.

And she is unbeaten in 15 matches in 2003 after helping the United States win the Hopman Cup in January.

The 21-year-old American captured the Australian Open last month to become only the fifth woman in tennis history to hold all four Majors at the same time.

Williams said: "I'm really happy that I could come here after winning a Grand Slam and keep up the level of intensity.

"In fact, I definitely played better here than in Melbourne."

Williams, who earned 93,000 US dollars for her 21st tournament victory, has won 50 of her last 52 matches - capturing eight of 10 tournaments over that span.

She tied the tournament record for least number of games lost en route to the title (17) set by Steffi Graf in 1995.

"Serena was just a level too good for me," Mauresmo admitted. "She deserves to be where she is ranked right now."

Williams will now take some time off before returning to action at the State Farm Classic in Scottsdale, Arizona on February 24.

Despite enduring her fifth loss to Williams in as many meetings, Mauresmo was happy with her performance this week.

This was the first event of the season for the 23-year-old, who has been sidelined for four months with cartilage inflammation of the right knee since mid-October last year.

"I have to thank everyone around me, my coach, my trainer (Xavier Moreau), all the people who helped me prepare for this tournament and over the last few months," Mauresmo said.

"It wasn't easy, but I worked really hard and I'm proud of that."

Mauresmo, the 2001 champion here, will move up to sixth in the rankings after her performance in this tournament.