Australian Open: Serena Williams seeks 22nd Grand Slam title

She wanted nothing to do with yet another unforced error in her Australian Open final against Angelique Kerber.

Serena Williams hopes relaxed expectations of her year ahead can be a small consolation from her Australian Open final loss.

Those errors and a lack of timing on several potential winners enabled Kerber to break again in the seventh game and then seal the first set in 39 minutes when Williams made another unforced error.

It’s been two decades since Steffi Graf won her last Australian Open, but her presence looms large over Saturday’s final. “Now I have beaten Serena and won the championship”.

At 5-2 up in the third, it looked to be a formality for Kerber, but the 21-time Grand Slam champion managed to force a break and then display a strong hold to threaten a late revival. My whole life I worked really hard and now I’m here I can say I’m a Grand Slam champion. The 34-year-old had steamrolled her opposition over the last two weeks, and was expected to continue doing so against the seventh-seeded German, who came in seeking her first major trophy.

While the humble German insists it’s too premature to write Williams off, Kerber believes her stunning Australian Open final triumph over the rampant world No. 1 can serve as inspiration to other would-be challengers. She had accumulated 9,311,818 United States dollars before this tournament even began and she has finished each year in the top 10 since 2012. She was also the first woman to win the title after being knocked out in the initial round the previous year since Kerry Melville Reid in 1977. I knew that I must go for it. I think it’s still tough to beat Serena.

Williams’s loss was her second in as many chances to tie Steffi Graf as the all-time leader in major titles at 22. A few names were tossed around, but not Kerber’s.

“This could be the start of a second career, maybe”, Kerber said.

“It’s interesting. I mean, every time I walk in this room, everyone expects me to win every single match, every single day of my life”, she said at her post-match press conference. She got up to see Williams walking over to her side of the net, and the pair met at mid-court for a hug.

But Williams finds her rhythm in the second, and now has a break opportunity. After hugging the teary-eyed Williams, Kerber told BBC.

At the ceremony, she was all smiles again.

Throughout the tournament, Kerber has talked about advice she received from Graf, her childhood idol who is now a mentor.

“But of course I think that a lot of new and good players are coming”.

Williams, the heavy favourite before the match, said she might have subconsciously felt the pressure that fans, the media and the tour put on her to win Grand Slam tournaments.

The mental conditioning paid off.

“Steffi is a champion”, Kerber said. Your 1st Grand Slam & number 2 in the ranking! That’s my first one.

The German got five broken, one more than her rival.

“When I played here in the first round, I was matchpoint down, so I had one leg in the plane to Germany, and now I’m here”. She never is. That’s one reason why she wins so often.

“First of all, I would like to say congratulations to Serena”, Kerber said.