Melbourne (CNN)Serena
Williams rewrote tennis history books once again, this time with sister
Venus across the net and her fiance Alexis Ohanian watching from the
stands.
When Serena beat her older
sibling in the Australian Open final 6-4 6-4, she collected a 23rd grand
slam title to surpass Steffi Graf for the Open Era lead.
Now
she only trails all-time leader Margaret Court by one major and the way
she played in Melbourne -- not dropping a set -- Serena is looking good
to achieve that feat later in 2017.
As
a considerable bonus Saturday evening, Serena also regained the No. 1
ranking from Angelique Kerber. Last year the German upset Serena
Williams to win the title.
Williams sisters' coaches speak on Aus final 03:09
Serena
had her game face on throughout but the sisters exchanged an extended
hug after Serena converted on her first match point in one hour, 22
minutes.
It simply wasn't meant to be for Venus, who appeared to be the crowd favorite at Rod Laver Arena.
At
36, she was the oldest Australian Open finalist in the Open Era. Her
celebration after winning in the semifinals is sure to be one of tennis'
memorable moments come the end of the long campaign.
But
in keeping with their head-to-head record -- Serena now leads 16-11 and
7-2 in grand slam finals -- it was her kid sister who would have the
final say.