At press time, Steffi Graf—Kerber’s compatriot and the last German woman to win a major singles title—had not remarked about the match on social media, namely her Facebook page, which she last updated on Christmas Eve 2015. That is certainly Graf's way, though even she must be satisfied that her Open-era mark of 22 major singles titles has stiff-armed Serena again.
And those who would stage a coup to usurp Serena at the top may be growing bolder. She remains the far-and-away No. 1 player in terms of rankings points, but no longer have a precious few foes taken cuts at her armor. As TheNew York Times’ Christopher Clarey put it, "The reasonable assumption now is that the more times women like [Flavia] Pennetta and Kerber can break through, the easier it will get for everybody else trying to find some sunshine in Williams’s shadow."
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