Angelique Kerber surprises Serena Williams in Australia

No. 7 seed Angelique Kerber stunned defending champion Serena Williams to lift her maiden grand slam at the Australian Open 2016 women’s singles final.

Kerber, who won the match in a three-set epic, 6-4, 3-6, 6-4, said never in her wildest dreams would she imagine winning the Australian Open, no less against an nearly unstoppable world No. 1.

Her win, however, prevents Williams from levelling the women’s Open-era record for grand slam titles won, which still belongs to Steffi Graf, Kerber’s compatriot and mentor.

Serena Williams Saturday said she wasn’t a “robot” and couldn’t win every match she played after slumping to a shock defeat in the Australian Open final against Germany’s Angelique Kerber.

The German said she was “playing with one leg on the plane to Germany” when down a match point in the second set of that first-round clash.

“You are really an inspiration for so many people, so many young tennis players”, Kerber said.

“My whole life I was working really hard and now I’m here and I can say I’m a Grand Slam champion”, said Kerber, who had only ever reached the semifinals twice at the majors and hadn’t gone beyond the quarterfinals since Wimbledon in 2012.

‘The best two weeks of my life, of my career, was here.

Six times a champion in Melbourne, the American went into the match a firm favourite and on course to make history. Williams competed like a champion, but she didn’t play like one.

But she said staying calm and taking it point by point was key to toppling both Azarenka and the world number one.

Serena, meanwhile, was left to wonder once again – as she did in the US Open semi-finals last September – how she had been outfought and outplayed in a truly magnificent encounter.

“Let me be the first to congratulate you and I hope you enjoy this moment”.

She’ll also surge to a new career-high ranking of No. 2 now, behind, of course, Williams. Williams has already achieved this feat five times, the last time being at her US Open campaign in 2014. “I have so many emotions, so many thoughts, but all of them good ones”.

Kerber simply wouldn’t allow Williams a way back into the match.

With Williams committing 23 mistakes in the first set, Kerber used it to her advantage and needed only 39 minutes to finish off the favorite. She won 22 Grand Slams.

It went with serve until the fourth game when Kerber dug herself a hole with two double faults that helped Williams to a 3-1 lead.

It was the sort of point many matches would turn on but Williams is an exceptional case and she recovered immediately to break back and level at 2-2.

Williams started confidently with a love-hold in the first game, but Kerber broke at the next time of asking before opening up a 3-1 lead.