Kerber Wunderbar in Melbourne

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Angelique Kerber stunned world number one Serena Williams in three sets to win her first Grand Slam title at the Australian Open.

Kerber, seeded seventh, won a thrilling final 6-4 3-6 6-4 at Melbourne Park.

The 28-year-old is the first German to win a major singles title since Steffi Graf at the 1999 French Open.

Williams, 34, was beaten for just the fifth time in 26 Grand Slam finals, and the American missed the chance to tie Graf's open-era record of 22 titles.

Kerber, who saved a match point in her first-round win over Misaki Doi, will move up to number two in the world rankings.

Kerber had won just one of six previous matches against Williams and was making her Grand Slam final debut, but she was the better player over two hours and eight minutes on Rod Laver Arena.

She led Williams in the ace count until the latter stages, limiting her to just seven overall, while the American racked up 46 errors to just 13 by Kerber.

Williams made 23 mistakes in the first set alone - sparking memories of her desperately nervous display in losing to Roberta Vinci at the US Open last September - and Kerber took full advantage to claim it after 39 minutes.

However, the defending champion cut her error count to just five in the second set and claimed it thanks to a single break in game four.

Kerber twice moved ahead in the decider and a stunning sixth game saw the German produce two fine drop shots and win a breathtaking 19-stroke rally to cling on to her serve and edge closer to victory.

Nerves took hold and she was broken while serving for the match, but she launched into the Williams serve once again and clinched the title when the world number one sent a volley long.

Kerber said afterwards that being able to say she was a Grand Slam champion "sounds crazy".

"It's my dream come. I worked for this my whole life," said the German.

"It's been such an up and down two weeks, I was match point down in the first round and had one foot in the plane to Germany.

"Now I have beaten Serena and won the championship. I have so many emotions, so many thoughts, but all of them good ones."

Williams was gracious in defeat, telling Kerber: "Angie, congratulations. You deserve this and I'm so happy for you. I really hope you enjoy this moment."

The runner-up added: "Would I give my performance an A? No, but this is all I could produce.

"I'm not a robot. I do the best that I can. I try to win every point but realistically I can't. Maybe someone else can."

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Federer Edberg Partnership Ends

Roger Federer’s successful partnership with Stefan Edberg is over, with the Swiss master adding Croat Ivan Ljubicic to his 2016 coaching team. Edberg has been credited with revitalising the former world No.1 and adding an innovative attacking edge to his game since the pair joined forces in late 2013.

But Federer says while his childhood idol will forever remain welcome on his team, Edberg will no longer travel with the 17-times grand slam champion. 

“After two very successful years, I would like to thank Stefan Edberg, my childhood idol, for agreeing to join my team,” Federer posted on his website on Wednesday. “It was a dream come true. Although it was supposed to only be for 2014, Stefan was great and agreed to extend the partnership through this year which I really appreciated.”

“He taught me so much and his influence on my game will remain. He will always be a part of my team.”

Federer said Swiss Davis Cup captain Severin Luthi, who has been working with the 34-year-old since 2008, will continue to serve as his main coach, with Ljubicic to assist. “Both Daniel Troxler, my physiotherapist and Pierre Paganini, my long-time fitness trainer, will remain part of my technical team,” he said.

Although he failed to add to his record 17 grand slam titles during his stint with Edberg, Federer accrued 11 trophies while honing his silky game with the Swede, including six in 2015. Edberg also guided Federer to the 2014 and 2015 Wimbledon finals, as well as this year’s US Open decider, with the Swiss losing all three championship matches to world No.1 Novak Djokovic. Edberg released a statement to the ATP thanking Federer for what he described as a “wonderful two years”.

“It became very clear from the start that this was going to be a special partnership, working with the greatest ambassador tennis has ever seen,” the six-times grand slam champion said. 

“It was exciting for me to be back out on tour and to see that the sport has made so much progress. After an amazing 2014, I decided to continue on for another year, but with a clear understanding that it would be my last year given the time commitment.”

“I believe Roger still has a lot left to give to the sport of tennis and is capable of winning the big events.”

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