The second seed got to No. 23 by triumphing over sister Venus Williams in the Australian Open final for her seventh Australian Open. This was the sisters’ ninth meeting in a Grand Slam final, with Serena holding a 7-2 edge in those finals.
Serena Williams, who was not a clear favorite coming into the first Grand Slam of the year, did not lose a set on her way to the finals despite having a tough draw. She faced former No. 7 Belinda Bencic in the first round. 19-year-old had defeated her in 2015 in Toronto. In the second round, she met Lucie Safarova, a former No. 5 who took Serena to three sets in the final of the 2015 French Open.
After her second round win, Serena Williams was asked if she felt she dodged a bullet.
“Well, honestly, it’s not ideal. But at the end of the day, when I play players like Bencic and Safarova, they force me to play better. It forces my game from the very first day to be at a high level. So I think it’s actually good.
“You know, I needed something to start really fast. I’m not going to complain about it,” said the newly-minted world No. 1.
36-year-old Venus Williams, who played her first Grand Slam final since 2009 Wimbledon Championships, became the oldest woman to play in a Grand Slam final in the Open Era and the second oldest in a Grand Slam final (Martina Navratilova was 37 years old when she played in Wimbledon in 1994).
It hasn’t been easy for the elder Williams, who was diagnosed with Sjogren’s Syndrome in 2011. She had to learn to manage the chronic autoimmune disease that threatened to end her successful tennis career.
“Everyone has their moment in the sun,” said Venus Williams. “Maybe mine has gone on a while. I’d like to keep that going. I’ve got nothing else to do so let’s keep it going.”
Serena Williams will officially reclaim the No. 1 ranking from Angelique Kerber on Monday. The German was upset by American Coco Vandeweghe in the fourth round.
This was the sisters’ 28th meeting.
The 2017 Australian Open win left Serena Williams one short of Margaret Court’s record of 24 Grand Slam championships she won between 1960-1973 before the Open Era, which began in 1968.
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By Ashley Ndebele