An off day, Kerber's play keeps Serena stuck at 21 Grand Slam titles

MELBOURNE, Australia—There is no bigger favorite than Serena Williams when she steps on court, and it has been often said that no one can truly beat her except herself.

At the beginning of her 6-4, 3-6, 6-4 loss to Angelique Kerber in Saturday’s Australian Open final, Williams was destroying herself.

Kerber knew she had to play the best match of her life, and keep her often-moody attitude in check, to have a chance at upending the 21-tme Grand Slam singles champion. She probably wasn’t counting on some of Williams’ worst tennis helping her out. The world No. 1 was missing routine shots by meters rather than inches in the first set and compiled an astonishing 23 unforced errors. Kerber, meanwhile, was doing what she does best: Not missing. She made just three unforced errors in the first set and would finish the entire match with 13. Williams racked up 46 unforced errors by match’s end.

Of course, Williams has a very different game style than the counterpunching Kerber, and racked up 46 winners to the German’s 25. But that wasn’t enough, because it was at the net where Williams really lost this match.

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The net is a place Williams normally puts away points with massive swings and ferocious velocity. Instead, the 34-year-old was hesitant. The American won just 15 of 32 net points. To her credit, Kerber was making Williams play one extra shot seemingly every point, be it a volley, overhead or swinging volley, and her effort was paying off.

Williams found her grove in the second set to take it 6-3. She was letting rip guttural “Come on’s” to help push herself onward. For a player that’s never been in a major final, Kerber handled the intimidation and momentous occasion without getting flustered.

Kerber, despite four years spent waddling in the Top 10, was hoping to prevent Williams from matching her idol Steffi Graf’s Open era record of 22 Grand Slam titles. And somehow, despite all the doubts both she and the world have had, and a momentum-swinging second set, she did it.

What’s more, Kerber made beating Williams look like a science. In the third set, she raced to a 5-2 lead while Williams kept taking punches at the net—one time literally getting nailed in the shoulder during yet another failed volley attempt. Kerber didn’t need to outslug Williams; she just had to outlast her. The 28-year-old ran and ran and ran some more, and managed a timely passing shot or two when the opportunity arose. She more than held her own in the extended, tense late-match rallies. The final point was a fitting one: Williams came into the net, only to pop up a volley long.

Given her 5-1 record against Kerber and domineering form heading into this match, the title was seemingly already in Williams’ packed trophy case. After their humbling defeats to the world No. 1 this week, both Maria Sharapova and Agnieszka Radwanska said Williams’ domination is inspiring and motivating. A few days later, Williams spoke to Kerber’s inspiring play.

“She played so well today. She had an attitude that I think a lot of people can learn from: just to always stay positive and to never give up,” Williams said. “I was really inspired by that.”

For Williams, it’s her second straight Grand Slam heatbreak, though nowhere near as soul crushing as her U.S. Open semifinal loss to Roberta Vinci, with a calendar-year Grand Slam at stake. Williams said she is having fun now and just trying to enjoy being here, especially after four months off.

“I've been having a lot of fun on the court,” Williams said. “I told myself that I'm here to have fun now. I've done everything that I didn't want to do. I didn't think I would have done as well as I have.”

Kerber herself admitted during her lengthy winner’s speech that she had one foot on the plane after being match point down in her against No. 64-ranked Misaki Doi way back in the first round.

While waiting for the trophy to be handed to her opponent, Williams seemed extremely happy, even giddy, for Kerber.

“It was a really good, really intense match,” Williams said. “I thought it was really exciting. Even being out there in the moment was pretty cool … I was actually really happy for her. “

Is this a sign that Williams is letting off a bit? At 34, she has been playing for a long time, but has confirmed on multiple occasions this week that she will return to Melbourne next year. Her genuine reaction after the final may have been great acting, or may have been the way a champion should handle defeat, with grace and compliments to her conqueror. But there’s more to it than that for Williams.

“Every time I walk in this room, everyone expects me to win every single match, every single day of my life,” Williams said. “As much as I would like to be a robot, I’m not … I do the best that I can. I try to win every single time I step out there, every single point, but realistically I can’t do it.”

With the upset, Kerber will rise all the way to No. 2 in the WTA rankings, and is the first German in this century to win a Grand Slam singles title (the last being Graf).

This means Williams will need to watch her back closely, but she sounds excited to do so.

“I think it’s good to know that if I want to win some tournaments, I have to play better,” Williams said.