The left-handed German, whose win will see her move up from world number six to two, has had an emphasis on consistency in Melbourne, patiently building control of the point as rallies develop.
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Williams for a second straight Slam after a 2015 US Open semifinal exit saw her game fall apart in a 6-4, 3-6, 6-4 loss to the Slam final neophyte Kerber at the 2016 Australian Open.
Kerber said she had “one leg on the plane home” when she went match point down against Misaki Doi in the opening round but she came back from the brink and now, seven victories later, is the Australian Open champion.
Williams had won the title every previous time she’d reached the final at Melbourne Park, and was overwhelming favorite to continue that streak against Kerber. Commenting on her promotion to the No. 2 ranking, she said that it “feels real good to have just one player above me”.
“I was able to take my second chance and to go for it, to play good matches in these two weeks and win at the end the Australian Open”.
“My dream came true tonight”, the emotional seventh seed said at the on-court presentation. “What’s after two is one, so I guess I better be careful”, laughed Williams after the match.
Zhang managed four wins in the span of 10 days after waiting eight years for her first win in a Grand Slam main draw.
“She played so well today and had an attitude a lot of people can learn from – to stay positive and never give up”.
“First of all, I would like to say congratulations to Serena”, the German said on court.
It was the sort of point many matches would turn on but Williams is an exceptional case and she recovered immediately to break back and level at 2-2. “I was really focusing”. And as much as I would like to be a robot, I’m not, and I try to.
Angelique Kerber of Germany drinks champagne at a press conference following her win over Serena Williams of the United States in the women’s singles final at the Australian Open tennis championships in Melbourne, Australia… You must play really your best tennis to beat her. I played really good. The sixth-ranked Kerber, 28, took defending champion and world No. 1 Serena Williams, 34, to the cleaners, 6-4, 3-6, 6-4.
In the process, she also thwarted Williams’ chance to equal legendary Steffi Graf’s total Grand Slam singles count of 22.
“I think I’m playing better”.
Kerber is only the fourth player to conquer Williams in a grand slam final, joining the American’s older sister Venus, Russian Maria Sharapova and Australia’s 2011 US Open champion Samantha Stosur.
Not a great volleyer nor possessing a great transition game, Williams perhaps due to her errors off the ground made a decision to frequently attack the net, many times with hit-and-hope approach shots.
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On the men’s side, Novak Djokovic will be chasing history on Sunday night, aiming to join Roy Emerson as the only six-time Australian Open champion when he meets Andy Murray.
