Angelique Kerber stunned Serena Williams to claim a first major title at the Australian Open, denying the world No1 her seventh crown in Melbourne and the chance to pull level with Steffi Graf on 22 grand slam victories.
Kerber, seeded seventh, prevailed 6-4, 3-6, 6-4 against Williams in her first appearance in a grand slam final, failing to serve out the set but recovering to break the defending champion again to seal victory.
The German, who had previously reached the semis at both Wimbledon and the US Open, took the first set 6-4, breaking Williams in the second service game and again when 4-3 up before serving out to love.
It was the first set Williams had lost all tournament but she soon bounced back and broke Kerber in the second, moving into a 3-1 lead and going on to take the set 6-3 with no more breaks of serve.
Kerber, seeded seventh, broke early in the third set, moving into a 2-0 lead but Williams responded immediately, breaking straight back. With Williams trailing 3-2 in the decider the German eventually secured what appeared to be the crucial break but when presented with the chance to serve out the match, the defending champion hit back to move to 4-5 down. Kerber was unperturbed however and broke Williams yet again to seal victory. – The Guardian.
