Melbourne: Serena Williams defeated her elder sister Venus Williams 6-4, 6-4 on Saturday to clinch her seventh Australian Open title and 23rd Grand Slam in the professional era.
Serene was given a tough fight by her sister at Rod Laver Arena here. After scoring the winning points, she slumped to the ground and congratulated her sister for inspiring her run in Melbourne.
"She's an amazing person, there's no way I would be at 23 without her," said the second seed Serena said, with the Daphne Akhurst Memorial Cup in her hands.
"There's no way I would have anything without her. She's the only reason the Williams sisters exist, so thank you for inspiring me to be the best that I can be," she added.
With this victory, Serene Williams moved pass legendary Tennis star Steffi Graf on the list of all-time Slam winners. She is just one more Grand Slam win away from Margaret Court's long-standing record of 24.
Venus, who was the eldest finalist in Melbourne in the professional era, received admiration from all corners of the Tennis fraternity for her remarkable run to the final.
"Serena Williams, that's my little sister, guys," she said, adding, "Congratulations Serena on number 23, I've been right there with you, some of them I've lost with you. Your win has always been my win, you know that. I'm enormously proud of you, you mean the world to me."