Angelique Kerber stunned Serena Williams in a 6-4 3-6 6-4 thriller to open her grand slam account and deprive the American of a 22nd title at a major that would have tied Steffi Graf for the Open Era lead.
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She is the first German player to win a Grand Slam in this century – and by winning, she protected fellow German Steffi Graf’s record for most Grand Slams in the Open Era.
Fans watched on in disbelief as six-time champion Williams – who lost her first Australian Open final in seven appearances – struggled to find her range in the opening set, tallying a staggering 23 unforced errors.
Angelique Kerber won this stunning point against Serena Williams on her way to her first Grand Slam.
Williams has won the Australian title all previous times she has reached the final at Melbourne Park.
“It sounds so insane”, she added with a laugh.
The German faced the powerful Williams serve first up, and failed to win a point against it.
“My dream came true tonight”, the emotional seventh seed said at the on-court presentation.
Williams immediately walked over to congratulate Kerber. She points to the toughest moment in her career coming in 2011, “when I was like losing 11 times in the first round” before a surprise run to the US Open semifinals as the world No.92. For three majors, Williams didn’t reach the quarterfinals, but when she finally won her 18th, it triggered a roll of four straight major titles. “You created history, you are a champion, you are a really an unbelievably great person”, Kerber said.
“(The media) expects me to win every match, but I’m not a robot. She does not entertain the distractions that plague other, more high profile players who have yet to win a Slam. “Really, it’s a special moment for me”.
Compatriot Steffi Graf texted her to “believe in yourself” before the match – and she did exactly that. I don’t know how many messages I get.
Kerber stood on the brink of defeat in her tournament opener against Misaki Doi, but hasn’t looked back since, also taking out two-time champion and former world No. 1 Victoria Azarenka en route to glory. “She played so well today and she had an attitude that a lot of people could learn from: To always stay positive and to never give up…If I couldn’t win, I’m happy she did”.
“I think Serena’s really a champion”. I’m really happy about my game I played, about the two weeks.
I mean, I think my phone is exploding right now. Doubt it? Kerber would have been entitled to, after admitting she lost her nerve against Lucie Safarova at the WTA Finals last October in Singapore, then vowing that it would not happen again. You know, I was not playing very good a year ago on the big tournaments.
With a 21-4 win-loss record in major finals heading into the clash Down Under, Williams was a heavy favourite against Kerber, a major final debutante seeded No. 7 in Melbourne. Earlier this month at Brisbane, Andrea Petkovic said she was overwhelmed by how much pressure Williams was under when trying to complete the calendar Slam.
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Then it was back to praising Kerber, the No 6 who wil be the world No 2 on Monday, the German having broken through at major level at the relatively advanced age of 28. She never is. That’s one reason she wins so often.
