Angelique Kerber wins 2016 Australian Open women’s title

Angelique Kerber has denied Serena Williams her seventh Australian Open championship, taking down the world No. 1 in three sets in the finals on Saturday, 6-4, 3-6, 6-4. Williams was going for her 22nd Grand Slam title, which would have tied her with Steffi Graf for second-most all-time.

The odds were stacked heavily against Kerber, as expected. She was playing in her first-ever Grand Slam final after losing her previous three major semifinal matchups. She had lost all but one of her meetings with Williams in the past, and Williams is simply amazing when it comes to playing in finals on the biggest stage of them all.

That was Williams’ fifth defeat in a Grand Slam final. She previously won 21-of-25 of her major final appearances.

Kerber had an absolutely stellar 13 unforced errors in the match, while Williams was credited with 46 of them herself. Kerber had three double faults to Williams’ six. Kerber played a fast, aggressive match, with a 67 percent to 47 percent breakdown in approaching the net. Williams ended up with 47 winners to Kerber’s 25, but the German played a much more complete match to seal the victory.

Kerber had previously made it to the semifinals once at the Australian Open, once at Wimbledon and once at the US Open. She played the match of her life and at 28 years old, holds a major final win over the player many consider to be the best in the world, regardless of gender.