ITF

28 ITFWORLD SPRING 2016 To be fair, the tentative Serena of the final was not remotely the same player who'd pummelled Maria Sharapova for the 18th straight time in their quarterfinal, or swamped Agnieszka Radwanska in the semis. The damning stat was Serena's 46 unforced errors to Kerber's 13. But the 34-year-old great lost no admirers with her graciousness in defeat. "I did the best I could today," Serena said, refusing to make any excuses. Told that she looked happier at the trophy presentation than the winner, Serena cracked: "Really? I should get into acting." Clearly, there was nothing fake about Serena's — nor the tennis world's — happiness for the unassuming, newly minted No. 2. "I can say I'm a Grand Slam champion — it sounds really crazy," Kerber marvelled. "My phone is exploding right now." And yes, there was a congrats from Graf. The turnaround in Kerber's career — and the tournament — came at 5-2, 40-love down in the second set of her quarterfinal against nemesis Victoria Azarenka. The Belarusian was back to How improbable and poetic that it was Angelique Kerber who stopped Serena Williams equalling Steffi Graf's Open- era record 22 majors, a fellow German preserving the record of her idol. Kerber's inspired 64 36 64 title win was one of the greatest final upsets in Grand Slam history. Though seeded seventh, Kerber, at 28, had made just two Grand Slam semis, the last back in 2012. Despondent at not passing the third round in majors last year, she put in an arduous pre-season with the goal of making an impact in the Slams. A far-from-promising start saw her survive a match point in her first round match with Misaki Doi. "I had one leg on the plane to Germany," as Kerber put it. But like Li Na's 2014 triumph after a back-from-the-brink early round match, a second tournament life infused the athletic lefty with a serene calm and she didn't lose another set on the way to the final. Kerber's devastating defence unravelled Serena's confidence and drew errors from would-be winners. But it was two guileful drop-shots at 3-2 in the third set, with Serena threatening to pick up her flagging game and somehow crash through to victory, that revealed Kerber's new mettle. AUSTRALIAN OPEN Told that she looked happier at the trophy presentation than the winner, Serena cracked: "Really? I should get into acting." Williams missed out on capturing her 22nd major title Britain's Johanna Konta had an impressive run to the semifinals New team Jamie Murray and Bruno Soares won their first Grand Slam doubles title together

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