Grand victory for Serena:
Williams defeats her older sister in Australian Open final for her 23rd major singles championship, tops in tennis’ 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 losing in a major final for the seventh time to her recordbreaking younger sister.
Serena won the all Williams final, the ninth in Grand Slam history and the second in Australia, 6-4, 6-4 on Saturday night.
With her record seventh Australian Open title, Serena moved ahead of Steffi Graf for the most major titles in the Open era.
The Williams sisters faced off for the first time at a major at Melbourne Park in 1998 — Venus won that one. In 2003, when the younger Williams completed her “Serena Slam” of four consecutive titles, Venus was on the other side of the net. She didn’t reach another Australian final for 14 years.
When Serena, 35, sat on the court Saturday, 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, Venus, 36, 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. She made it back only last year to reach the Wimbledon semifinals.
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.
“It’s stuff that legends are made of,” Serena said. “I couldn’t have written a better story.”
Now there will be a limited-edition racket — 23 of them to be released — and some custom-made shoes sent by former NBA great Jordan, with his usual jersey No. 23 stamped on the heel.