Tearful Kerber stuns Williams to win first major title

Angelique Kerber stunned Serena Williams to win the Australian Open on Saturday and thwart the American world number one's bid to equal Steffi Graf's Open-era record of 22 Grand Slam titles.

In a huge upset, the seventh seed toppled the top seed 6-4, 3-6, 6-4 to win her maiden major title and become the first German Grand Slam champion since Graf at the 1999 French Open.

Williams, the world number one, had won all six previous Melbourne Park finals she had played and had also triumphed in her last eight Grand Slam deciders.  

But Kerber, inspired by a message from Graf, made clear before the match that all the pressure was on her opponent and she mercilessly exploited her weaknesses in a thriller at Rod Laver Arena.

"My whole life I was working really hard and now I’m here and I can say I’m a Grand Slam champion, so it sounds really crazy," she said, choking back tears.

"The best two weeks of my life and career. I had goose bumps here on the centre court when I was playing."

The left-handed German has had an emphasis on consistency in Melbourne, patiently building control of the point as rallies develop.

It worked well with the 28-year-old dropping just one set en route to the final, in the opening round to Misaki Doi -- where she also fended off a match point. 

Williams had been in imperious form all tournament, but too many errors cost her dearly against an opponent she had beaten five times before.