Serena nets record 23rd major

Williams beats sister in Australian final for most titles in Open era

MELBOURNE, Australia — Serena Williams held up a Grand Slam winner’s trophy for the 23rd time, celebrating her unrivaled place in history, and received a congratulatory letter and a pair of custom-made shoes from Michael Jordan, the name most synonymous with No. 23.

Venus Williams got to watch from close range again, and shed tears more of joy than regret after being beaten in a major final for the seventh time by her record-breaking younger sister.

Serena won the all-Williams final, the ninth in Grand Slam history and the second in Australia, 6-4, 6-4 early Saturday (PST).

With her record seventh Australian Open title, Serena moved ahead of Steffi Graf for the most major titles in the Open era.

When the match ended and Serena sat on the court, holding both arms up to celebrate, Venus walked over to her sister’s side of the net for a hug.

“This was a tough one,” Serena said. “I really would like to take this moment to congratulate Venus, she’s an amazing person — she’s my inspiration.

“There’s no way I would be at 23 without her — there’s no way I would be at one without her. Thank you, Venus, for inspiring me to be the best player I can be and inspiring me to work hard.”

Asked if it felt awkward to be on the receiving end of so many losses to her sister, the 36-year-old Venus didn’t flinch.

“No, because I guess I’ve been here before,” she said. “I really enjoy seeing the name Williams on the trophy. This is a beautiful thing.”

Venus won the last of her seven majors in 2008 at Wimbledon. She didn’t make the second week of a major for a few years as she came to terms with an energy-sapping illness after being diagnosed with Sjogren’s syndrome in 2011. And she only made it back to the semifinals last year at Wimbledon.

Serena Williams, meanwhile, enjoyed the fact she made history in Melbourne. Only Margaret Court, with 24, is in front of her in terms of overall Grand Slam singles titles, although the Australian great won 13 of her Grand Slams before the Open era began in 1968.

“My first Grand Slam started here, and getting to 23 here, but playing Venus, it’s stuff that legends are made of,” Serena said. “I couldn’t have written a better story.”

Serena got a bit superstitious Down Under and didn’t want to talk about No. 23 until she got it. Now, there’s a limited-edition racket — 23 of them to be released — and custom-made shoes sent by former NBA great Jordan.

Bob and Mike Bryan missed out on a doubles record, losing the final 7-5, 7-5 to Henri Kontinen of Finland and John Peers of Australia. The third-seeded twins were trying to win their 17th Grand Slam title, which would have tied them with John Newcombe.

Snedeker, trying to become the fourth player to win back to back at Torrey Pines since the tournament began in 1952, didn’t get much out of his round of 70. His three birdies all were inside 6 feet.

Snedeker and Rodgers were at 9-under 207, and 15 players were within three shots of the lead.

Rodgers is the latest player from the high school class of 2011 with a chance to shine.

He picked up extra motivation from watching one of his best friends, former roommate Justin Thomas, sweep the Hawaii swing.

Before Thomas, Jordan Spieth was picking up big trophies at an alarming rate.

Also in range of a victory are two others from that class of 2011. C.T. Pan of Taiwan, who played at Washington, birdied three of his last five holes for a 69 and was one shot behind.

Ollie Schniederjans (71) was two shots behind.

LPGA — At Paradise Island, Bahamas, Stacy Lewis had two backnine eagles in the season-opening Pure Silk Bahamas Classic to again put herself in position to end a long winless streak.

Lewis shot a 10-under 63 at Ocean Club to match Lexi Thompson atop the leaderboard at 23-under 196, one off the tour 54-hole record for relation to par.

EUROPEAN PGA — At Doha, Qatar, South Korea’s Jeunghun Wang broke out of a crowded pack with a 7-under 65 to take a three-stroke lead in the Qatar Masters.

The 21-year-old Wang had a 15-under 201 total at Doha Golf Club.