Sportsmanship to the Fore: Williams Praises Kerber’s Inspirational Attitude after Final

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Sportsmanship to the Fore: Williams Praises Kerber’s Inspirational Attitude after Final

Serena Williams showed a lot of love and respect for Angelique Kerber on court after the German shocked her in Saturday night’s Australian Open final.

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William’s sportsmanship drew rave reviews from fans, pundits and other professional athletes, like German footballer, Bastian Schweinsteiger and 18-time major champion Martina Navratilova.

Fantastic gesture after match point and such kind words = a great champion, @serenawilliams! 👏 #AusOpen
— Basti Schweinsteiger (@BSchweinsteiger) January 30, 2016

I said before the match Kerber would have to play the match of her life to win- she did. Wow- congrats!And Serena- what a gracious champion!
— Martina Navratilova (@Martina) January 30, 2016

After the match Williams revealed just what it was about Kerber’s performance that moved her.

“I was actually really happy for her,” Williams told reporters. “She's been around a really long time. We've had a number of matches. I've beaten her a lot.

“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. 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, who win her first Grand Slam title on her 33rd appearance at a major and became the seventh-oldest WTA player to win a maiden major, was quick to return the favor to Serena.

“I think Serena's really a champion,” Kerber said. “She told me after that she's really happy for me and that I really deserved it. So, yeah, you saw that she is really, really a great person. She is, yeah, like I said, making history. She is inspiring a lot of people. So it's like you said, yeah, what she did, it's like just great from her.”

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