LONDON, July 9, 2016

Serena Williams has joined Steffi Graf on 22 Grand Slam titles after clinching a seventh Wimbledon crown on Saturday. The world numer one defeated reigning Australian Open champion Angelique Kerber 7-5, 6-3. Williams, who finished runner-up to the German in Melbourne, was the dominant player on centre court, firing 13 aces and 39 winners to secure victory in one hour and 21 minutes.

“Firstly, Serena, you are a great person, a great champion. it’s always an honour for me to play you in finals. Congratulations. It’s the best feeling playing here on the Centre Court. I really have the best two weeks here at Wimbledon. Also I would like to say thank you to my box. I have the best team over there and I know you are always supporting me. Sometimes I am not so easy but you are all so believing in me,” Kerber told and added:

“I was a little bit nervous at the beginning of the match but I played what I could today and I can just say Serena was serving unbelievably today. She deserved it. She played an unbelievable match. I tried everything. I was not the one who lost the match. She won the match. I had one break point and couldn’t do anything. I was trying to be tough and to fight until the last point and I played my best. Serena was returning better and was just going for it. She did everything right. I’m proud after Paris [when losing in the first round of French Open after winning the Australian Open]. Today was a great atmosphere and I will never forget the feeling.”

Serena was understandably happy afterwards.

“Angelique is such a great opponent, she really brings out great tennis in me. Thank you for being that great person. It’s been incredibly difficult not to think about it [matching Steffi Graf’s record]. I had a couple of tries this year and lost to great opponents, one of them being Angelique. It makes the victory even sweeter knowing how hard I had to work for it.”

In her press conference, Williams was asked if she could remember her 22 individual Slam wins. She replied: “There’s definitely some blurs between eight, nine and 10. I don’t even know where eight, nine and 10 was or when. I definitely don’t remember where 12 was. I remember one and two. I remember one through four. Gets really blurry after that.”

Later the day, top-seeds Nicolas Mahut and Pierre-Hugues Herbert clinched the men’s doubles title with a 5-4, 7-6, 6-3 victory over Julien Benneteau and Edouard Roger-Vasselin in two hours and seven minutes.

Marathon man to #Wimbledon champion…

6 years after *that* match, Nicolas Mahut celebrates a title on Centre Court pic.twitter.com/sk8Fi51bST

— Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) 9. Juli 2016