MELBOURNE, Australia—Before Angelique Kerber upset Serena Williams in Saturday evening’s Australian Open final, she had to contend with another vexing opponent, one that has left many a first-time Grand Slam finalist feeling skittish and exhausted before even striking a ball: boredom.  It’s not easy playing a Grand Slam final for the first time. Sure, Kerber, a 28-year-old German, had “nothing to lose,” that old sports cliché that actually has some truth to it. But life is not that simple for a Grand Slam underdog. A final is big. Really big.  There’s nothing bigger in tennis, and there’s no way to avoid knowing this or thinking about it. There’s a lot of time before a final, a whole day after the semifinals and most of another when the final is played in the evening. The 34-year-old Williams, who won her first Grand Slam title in 1999, knows this well. Kerber had no idea what she was in for.  “I was sitting in my room for like three or four hours, like ‘OK, what should I do?’” she said. “I was packing my clothes because I knew I would fly Sunday and I had still two hours. I was like, ‘OK, I can’t go shopping because it’s too much energy.”  Kerber more than kept her cool. From the first game of this final, she was sharp. She moved well, even glided at times. She took chances on her serve and with her backhand, one of the best in the sport. She won the first set, which was good, and then didn’t panic when she lost the second, which was essential. Then in the third set she played the tennis of her life. In a pivotal game, Kerber broke Williams’s serve with the help of two drop shots so delicate and well placed that no one could have chased them down.  “That’s how I am, a little bit crazy,” Kerber said. “She was not expecting.” Kerber won the match in two hours and eight minutes by a score of 6-4, 3-6, 6-4. Her victory will lift her ranking to No. 2 in the world.  Williams came into the final one victory from tying Steffi Graf at 22 Grand Slam singles titles, the most in the Open era, which began in 1968. She almost got there at the U.S. Open last year, before she lost in the semifinals to Roberta Vinci, an unseeded Italian. Williams was off her game that day, far from the player who had won the first three Grand Slam titles of the season. She held a short news conference afterward and immediately left the Open’s grounds, clearly distraught.  There was no outward disappointment this time. In fact, Williams was thrilled for her opponent. After the final point of the match, she hustled around the net and warmly hugged Kerber. She clapped and smiled as Kerber kissed her trophy. She congratulated Kerber in her runner-up speech and the two women laughed with each other during the trophy ceremony. Williams would have liked to win, but she wasn’t just putting on a show with her kindness. Kerber, she said, was easy to admire.  “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. So, honestly, she’s a really good girl. If I couldn’t win, I’m happy she did.”  Kerber appreciated the sentiment. “You can see that she’s really a champion,” Kerber said. “She just told me that she’s happy for me, that I really deserve it. And that means a lot for me to hear this from the No. 1 in the world.”  Patrick Mouratoglou, Williams’s coach, said Williams could have played better, but also a lot worse.  “I’ve seen her much tighter in some other Grand Slam finals,” he said. “When you’re a big favorite in a Grand Slam final, you’re a bit nervous. If you’re not, you’re not normal.”  Kerber could have lost in the first round here. She faced a match point in that match, one miss from another miserable Australian Open (she lost in the first round last year and had never escaped the fourth round here in her career). In the quarterfinals, Kerber came up against Victoria Azarenka, a title favorite and a Kerber killer: Azarenka had won all six of their matches. Kerber didn’t fret. She won and stuck with her routine—practice at the same time, play the same way, have dinner at Nobu—and then she won in the semifinals, too.  That’s where the story was supposed to end, and it still would have been a feel-good story if it had. Kerber wanted to enjoy the final. She wanted to play hard. She wanted to put on a good show. She wanted to win, yes, but better not to worry about that.  “I was hoping of course that this will be my night and just go for it,” she said. If she lost, great. If she won, then even better.  “It’s easy to say, but it’s hard to do,” said her coach, Torben Beltz.  Mouratoglou knew this too. As Williams gained momentum in the third set and served to tie the set at 5-5, he wondered how Kerber would handle the moment.  Williams had been there before, and in a tense final, that was worth a lot more than being an underdog.  “When you’re close to closing the match, how will you react, especially in your first Grand Slam final?” he said.  Kerber handled the moment like a veteran. When Williams’s last volley of the night floated long, she fell to her back.  “This moment I will never forget,” she said. “I knew OK, I won the final, I am a Grand Slam champion, I can hold the trophy now.”  Not a bad ending to a day that started out as boring as could be.
Angelique Kerber’s victory over Serena Williams in the Australian Open frustrated Williams’ hope for a 22nd title win, which would have put her even with Steffi Graf for the record for titles held in the Open era of tennis.