Tennis great Serena Williams has claimed the first Grand Slam title of 2017 after a straight sets win over sister, Venus at the Australian Open in Melbourne.
Serena’s 6-4, 6-4 win in the final at the Rod Laver Arena saw her edge ahead of Steffi Graf to get a 23rd major title, the most in the Open era.
As a result, she regains top spot on the women’s world ranking from Angelique Kerber who crashed out in the round of 16 to Coco Vandeweghe.
The 35-year-old is also the oldest female to win a singles Grand Slam and be number one on the singles ranking.
Speaking after her win, Serena stated, ‘I used to say no more numbers, just let me do what I do best. But now we can talk about it.’
She added, ‘It’s never enough, 23 … 24 … 25. I felt like I really elevated my game this year.’
On her part, Venus said, ‘I really enjoy seeing a Williams win a trophy, so this is a beautiful thing.’
Also, the 36-year-old stated, ‘I don’t think we’re going for the greatest story in sports. We’re just going after our dreams.’
Following this win, her seventh Australian Open title, Serena will now be out to equal and possibly surpass the all-time record of 24 major titles held by Margaret Court.
The Australian, who won 11 majors in the Open era, got her first title at the 1960 Australian Open, eight years before the Open era started at the 1968 French Open.
No Fields Found.