The Roar
The Roar

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Serena in straight sets claims 23rd slam, world No.1 again

Expert
28th January, 2017
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Stars such as the Williams sisters are no longer enough to bring in casual crowds to the Australian Open. (AP Photo/Dita Alangkara)
Expert
28th January, 2017
5

Serena Williams has claimed her 23rd Australian Open title on Saturday night at Rod Laver Arena, defeating her older sister Venus in straight sets.

The match started with both sisters suffering a few nerves and in a bizarre series of events the first four games all saw serve broken.

Serena in particular seemed flustered – she coughed up one of her service games through a double-fault, and also broke a racquet in frustration after her feet slipped, costing her a point.

With Serena not playing to her best it seemed Venus could go with her and might be a chance of an upset, but once Serena found her rhythm and went into a higher gear, Venus just could not match.

Serena won another break later in the first set and then held her serve to win the match – and the second set was a similar case of affairs, with only the one break going Serena’s way.

Ultimately, it wasn’t a match that reached any truly entertaining heights or offered too many surprises. Aside from her early jitters, Serena was quite clearly the superior sister.

We saw that in her powerful serve delivering ten aces for the match, three more than Venus was able to provide, and 27 winners to 21.

Serena coughed up a lot of unforced errors early in the match as she settled in, but before things were finished it was Venus who had recorded two more – 25-23.

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Her win was made all the more impressive by the fact that she didn’t drop a set throughout the entire tournament, the first time she has done so at the Australian Open.

The result means Serena is now a 23-time grand slam title winner, seven-time Australian Open women’s singles winner, and leading the ledger 17-11 against her sister in professional competition.

On top of that, she is now once again the world No.1 after Angelique Kerber bowed out earlier than expected in the fourth round.

And of course, she also now finds herself just one grand slam title behind the record set by the legendary Margaret Court, with 24.

“I would really like to take this moment to congratulate Venus. She is an amazing person,” Serena said in her post-match speech.

“There is no way I would be at 23 without her. There is no way I would be at one without her.

“She is my inspiration, she is the only reason I am standing here today and the only reason that the Williams sisters exist.

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“Thank you Venus for inspiring me to be the best player that I could be and inspire me to work hard. Every time you won this week I felt like I got a win too.

“I definitely think she will be standing here next year. I don’t like the word ‘comeback’. She has never left. She is such a great champion.”

Final score
Serena Williams defeated Venus Williams 6-4, 6-4.

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