International Sports Desk, Jan 30 (EFE).– Germany’s Angelique Kerber defied the odds to stun Serena Williams in Saturday night’s Australian Open final, using superior consistency and strong defense to defeat the world’s top-ranked player 6-4, 3-6, 6-3.

The seventh-seeded Kerber, who saved a match point in her opening contest in Melbourne, a first-round 6-7 (4-7), 7-6 (8-6), 6-3 victory over Japan’s Misaki Doi, rose to the occasion in the championship match and capped off the victory by winning a dramatic third set that lasted nearly an hour.

The German showed impressive poise and self-confidence in winning the first set in 39 minutes, but Williams used her power to storm back and send the match to a decider.

Kerber then played nearly error-free tennis in the third set to get the momentum back in her favor, breaking serve to win the match after Williams had nearly rallied from a 5-2 deficit.

Williams struck 47 winners but hurt her cause with 46 unforced errors, while Kerber finished the match with a nearly two-to-one winner-error ratio (25-13)

“It’s been the best two weeks of my life, and you are the best fans in the world,” the elated first-time Grand Slam champion said during the trophy presentation. EFE