Serena Williams triumphs over sister Venus in the Australian Open final to take 23rd Grand Slam after impressive straight sets victory
A year after being shocked by Angelique Kerber, Serena Williams reasserted herself at the top of women's tennis by winning the private battle with her sister.
Serena now returns to world No 1 and moved ahead of Steffi Graf's total of 22 Grand Slam titles when she subdued her beloved Venus 6-4, 6-4 in 82 minutes.
For Serena it was a seventh win in Australia and puts her within one Major win of Margaret Court, who accumulated them at a time when Melbourne was a lesser currency, unlike now.
Serena also now returns back to the familiar spot of No 1 women's player in world tennis after her latest win.
She has become the oldest Grand Slam winner in the open era after earning victory at the age of 35
After a relatively fallow 2016, when Wimbledon was the highlight, she has resumed normal service and in some style, having not dropped a set all fortnight.
At the end, after failing to return a forehand driven into the corner, Venus came round the net to hug her sister. She had arguably surprised even more in this tournament.
It always seemed that Venus's biggest hope might be some sort of freeze from her sister, who came in as very strong favourite.
Unlike 12 months ago it was not a classic contest, with the most riveting drama being in the early stages when the eventual champion struggled to keep her calm in the face of a spirited challenge.
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