FYI.

This story is over 5 years old.

Sports

Angelique Kerber Stuns Serena Williams to Win Australian Open

Angelique Kerber had a pretty good day.

Angelique Kerber played like a boss against Serena Williams in the Australian Open Final and beat the best thing going in tennis 6-4, 3-6, 6-4 to win her first grand slam title. Serena was sloppy to start the match off, but Kerber played some ridiculous tennis throughout, and the two played a thrilling sixth game in the third set.

Kerber threw everything at Serena in that game, she hit screaming forehand passing shots from the baseline, cross court passing shots from just about anywhere, and of course, those drops shots. They were simply deadly—she hadn't hit one all match until then—and almost in the exact same spot each time.

Advertisement

Kerber actually lost one of the most entertaining points of the match, running nearly 70 meters over the course of an 19-shot rally. But Kerber went on to win that sixth game to go up 4-2, and held Serena off to win the final set 6-4. Coming into to the tournament, Kerber was the sixth ranked woman in the sport and with the win, she will shoot up to second.

Serena missed out on tying Stefi Graf's Open Era record for major victory titles at 22 and had won her previous eight grand slam final matches (she lost to Roberta Vinci in the U.S. Open semis). She was gracious in defeat, but you could tell the pressure to live up to Serena Williams, World Destroyer is tough to handle some days. "Every time I walk into this room, everyone expects me to win every single match," she said, adding "I do the best I can."

In other Steffi-related news, Kerber became the first German to win the Australian Open since Graf did it over 20 years ago, a feat that she's not quite sure she believes yet.

Kerber: "I had goosebumps. My whole life I've worked hard. To say 'I am a Grand Slam champion' is crazy" #AusOpen pic.twitter.com/j9woE4GXfn
— Australian Open (@AustralianOpen) January 30, 2016