Serena Williams has won her seventh Wimbledon title by beating Angelique Kerber 7-5, 6-3 on Centre Court, equalling Steffi Graf’s record of 22 grand slam singles at major championships.
Williams, 32, achieved the milestone on Saturday in the presence of two of her biggest fans, music icons, Beyonce and Jay-Z.
The top-seeded Williams won her first Grand Slam title since Wimbledon last year, having lost in the U.S. Open semi-finals and in the final of the Australian and French Opens.
“It’s been incredibly difficult not to think about it,” she said of finally winning number 22.
“It makes the victory even sweeter to know how hard I worked hard for it.
“This court definitely feels like home, I have a match later today in the doubles, so I’ll be back out.”
Williams moves alongside German great Graf in the all-time list of Grand Slam singles champions, and just two behind overall leader Margaret Court, the Australian who won 13 of her 24 major titles before tennis turned professional in 1968.
Kerber, who beat Williams in the Australian Open final, was playing for her second major title.
The fourth seed stuck to her guns in a fiercely-fought first set but wavered at 5-6 when a couple of unforced errors gave a fired-up Williams the chance to grab the opener, which she did on her second set point.
World number one, Williams, faced a moment of danger when Kerber earned a first break point at 3-3 in the second set but she responded by blasting down consecutive aces to stay ahead.
Under severe pressure throughout the contest Kerber crumbled in the next game, skewing a backhand wide to give Williams a 5-3 lead and the chance to serve for the title.
Williams was in no mood to prolong the contest and stormed 40-0 ahead, sealing victory with a volley on her first match point before collapsing backwards joyfully on to the Centre Court turf.
“I love playing her,” Williams said of Kerber. “She’s such a great opponent.”
“It makes the victory even sweeter to know how hard I worked for it,” Williams told ESPN following the victory. “I don’t know what else to say. I’m so excited.”
