After long pursuit, Serena Williams sets record with 23rd Grand Slam title

MELBOURNE — There was a great deal at stake for Serena Williams in the Australian Open final on Saturday night, far more than having to push aside her older sister.

For Serena, the 6-4, 6-4 win to hoist the Australian Open trophy for a seventh time establishes a brand new record. At 35, she is the only player – man or woman – to win 23 Grand Slam singles titles in the Open Era.

“It’s such a great feeling to have 23,” Williams said. “It really feels great. I’ve been chasing it for a really long time. It feels like, really long time. When it got on my radar, I knew I had an opportunity to get there, and I’m here.”

Now that Williams has Steffi Graf in her rear-view mirror – the two were tied at 22 Grand Slam titles since Wimbledon last year – she can look ahead to the next record to break.

Australian Margaret Court holds the overall record with 24 Grand Slam titles, an achievement which spans the pre-Open and Open Era.  Court was in the crowd watching Serena inch closer to her claim to fame in the game on Saturday night.

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Williams was also in position to return to the world No. 1 ranking if she won the title. But she had no idea that was in the offing as her coach, Patrick Mouratoglou, told her a fib by saying it wasn’t a possibility.

“She trusts me, because I never lie unless it’s for her own good,” said Mouratoglou, laughing. “She’ll forget. Give me a few weeks and she won’t think about anymore. But, actually, I think she’s happy I did it now.”

Williams admits she was clueless that she could take back the No. 1 ranking  she relinquished to Angelique Kerber when she fell in the U.S. Open semifinals and Kerber went on to win the title.

“In the beginning of the tournament, I was like, ‘If I win, will I be No. 1?” Williams said. "(Mouratoglou) said 'No, no, no.' Today on the court ... I was like, ‘Whoa, really?'”

In Mouratoglou’s mind, a win here was essential for Williams to start the new season. After she lost in last year’s U.S. Open semifinals to Karolina Pliskova, she hung up her rackets for the rest of the year.

At Auckland, her first tournament this year, Williams was flat in her only match. She lost in three sets to fellow American Madison Brengle in the opening round and did so with a shocking 88 unforced errors. In their one previous match, Brengle only won one game.

“She needed to win this one,” Mouratoglou said of the Australian Open. “I feel that when you end the season with a loss, especially at a Grand Slam, you don’t have a good feeling. You have to fight back to get that confidence back. So that’s why this one was very important for the rest of the season.”

Williams was already the oldest women's champion at a major in the Open Era, a record she set by winning the 2016 Wimbledon title at 34 years and 287 days old.

At the outset of the match against Venus there were definite nerves on both sides with the first four games seeing service breaks. From there they both settled into the outing, but still returning better than serving.

In the end, it was Serena who secured the upper hand. She just had that little something extra – a bit more fight, a bit more confidence – to get the job done in 82 minutes.

For now, the sisters have played on 28 occasions and Serena's won 17 of those meetings. In Grand Slams, Serena leads Venus 10-5 in matches played, and 7-2 in Grand Slam final encounters played.

“Playing Venus, it’s stuff that legends are made of,” Serena said. “I couldn’t have written a better story. I just feel it was the right moment. Everything kind of happened. It hasn’t quite set in yet, but it’s really good.”

And on the topic of even more interest for some than her winning a 23rd Grand Slam title - there is another reveal to report regarding her fiancee, Reddit co-owner Alexis Ohanian.

While it’s true that she forgot to mention his presence in her box on the court, he did show up as part of her entourage in the interview room, and he couldn’t stop beaming and eyeing her sitting by the trophy. And on her finger, there was finally a sighting of a classic engagement ring - big, beautiful and bright.

PHOTOS: All 23 of Serena Williams' Grand Slam titles