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German seventh seed Angelique Kerber has caused a huge upset defeating world No.1 Serena Williams in three sets 6-4, 3-6, 6-4 to win the 2016 Australian Open.
Kerber was strong in the first set stunning Williams after hitting several winners and seeing the world No.1 make several unforced errors going down 4-6.
Williams bounced back in the second, showing why she is on top of the WTA Tour rankings and has won the third most major titles after only Margaret Court and Steffi Graff with a 6-3 win to send the final into a third, deciding set.
Early in the third set, Kerber proved she would not give up showing why she booked a place in her maiden grand slam final however Williams soon came crawling back.
The American made a late charge, however, it wasn’t enough in the end with Angelique Kerber winning the third set 6-4 and taking her first ever major title.
Final Score
Angelique Kerber defeated Serena Williams 6-4, 3-6, 6-4
Can Serena Williams make history with her seventh Australian Open win or will German Angelique Kerber cause a massive upset and defeat the world No.1? Join The Roar from around 7:30pm (AEDT) for live scores and coverage.
First seed Williams is yet to drop a set at the Australian Open, her first tournament since losing at the hands of Roberta Vinci in the US Open back in September.
The American world No.1 has stepped up considerably since she was embarrassed by the Italian in three sets, fighting her way through with wins over Camila Giorgi 6-4, 7-5 during the first round, Su-Wei Hsieh 6-1, 6-2 during the second round, Daria Kasatkina 6-1, 6-1 during the third round and Margarita Gasparyan 6-2, 6-1 in the fourth.
She then powered through to stun world No.5 Maria Sharapova 6-4, 6-1 before putting on another convincing display against world No.4 Agnieszka Radwanska with a 6-0, 6-4 victory.
A win over Kerber would see Williams hold up the trophy at Melbourne Park for the seventh time and would be her 22nd grand slam singles title, with only Steffi Graff (22) and Margaret Court (24) having previously achieved such a feat.
Angelique Kerber is seeded sixth and will be hoping she can become just the second German to win at the Australian Open after Steffi Graff.
Kerber has impressed recently having won eight of her last ten matches with her only losses coming during her lead-up to the tournament at the hands of Victoria Azarenka during the final of the Brisbane International and in the second round of the Sydney International by virtue of a walkover.
The German has dropped just one set all tournament, coming in the first round when she defeated Misaki Doi 6-7, 7-6, 6-3 before progressing to defeat Alexandra Dulgheru 6-2, 6-4 in straight sets during the second round, Madison Brengle 6-1, 6-3 in the third and in the fourth round compatriot Annika Beck 6-4, 6-0.
She then went on to shock the tennis world with an impressive win over tournament favourite Victoria Azarenka in straight sets 6-3, 7-5 after she kept the Belarusian at bay with some impressive forehand winners.
Kerber then proceeded to defeat Johanna Konta, ending the Brit’s fairytale maiden Australian Open tournament in straight sets 7-5, 6-2.
Angelique Kerber has a huge task ahead of her, however if she can knock Williams off her perch, it will be seen as one of the greatest feats in women’s tennis this decade.
The pair has played each other six times with Williams winning all but one. They have not faced off since meeting at the final in Stanford back in 2014 with Williams winning in straight sets 7-6, 6-3.
Kerber hasn’t defeated the American in four matches with her last win over Williams coming back in late 2012. The German will be hoping she can break the drought with a huge upset that will see her win her first ever grand slam title.
Prediction
Serena Williams will hold on despite a strong performance from Kerber and finish with her seventh title at Melbourne Park and move to equal second with Steffi Graff for most grand slam singles titles sitting behind only Australian Margaret Court.
Williams in straight sets.
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