Serena Beats Kerber for Elusive 22nd Grand Slam Title

Serena Williams played flawless tennis on Saturday, using her dominant serve to defeat Angelique Kerber 7-5, 6-3 and capture the Wimbledon championship, equaling Steffi Graf’s Open Era record of 22 career Grand Slam titles.

It was her fourth chance to tie Graf’s record, having lost at last year’s U.S. Open and this year’s Australian Open and French Open, but Serena seemed to be dialed in for the last three rounds here at Wimbledon. That was no more evident in Saturday’s final, when just two bad service games from Kerber was all Serena needed as she secured one break in each set to nail down the straight-set victory.

“I had a couple of tries this year,” said Serena of the record. “It makes the victory even sweeter to know how hard I worked for it.”

The match was much closer and more competitive than the score line would indicate. The first set was on serve until 6-5, when back to back errors from Kerber gave Serena the break on her first set point.

The second set would stay on serve until Kerber was serving down 3-4. A backhand return sailed wide and gave Serena her second break point of the match. In the ensuing service game, Serena continued her mastery, holding at love to defend her Wimbledon title.

 Serena saved the only break point she faced, and won 88 percent of her first serves. She fired 13 aces, and posted a remarkable 39 winners to just 21 unforced errors. Her serve neutralized the incredible return game of Kerber, and the match was decided by just one game in each set.

“You know, I love playing her,” Serena said of Kerber, who defeated her earlier this year at the Australian Open final. “She brings out the best tennis in me and away from the court she’s such a great person to be around.”

Kerber will move up the rankings to second in the world with her run to the final.

“I just want to say really congrats to Serena. You really deserve the title. You’re a great champion and a great person,” Kerber said. “It’s always an honor to play against you in the final. We played a great match—really, congrats!”

Serena now has a chance to pass Graf on the all-time Grand Slam titles list when she comes to Flushing Meadows for the U.S. Open next month.