Serena Williams made history Saturday by winning her 22nd grand slam title, defeating German Angelique Kerber 7-5, 6-3 to claim her seventh Wimbledon trophy, dpa reported. The 34-year-old pulled level with Steffi Graf on title honours at the majors as she won Wimbledon for a seventh time. "It's a great relief, it was a really good and exciting win for me today," Williams said after her victory. "It was a great final, [Kerber] played really well. There were a lot of long, tough points and I had to work for every one. It made for a really good match." Graf congratulated Williams on her record-tying victory, calling it "an incredible performance" and also praising Kerber. "Such a gift to all sport fans who get to continue to watch her add to an already amazing career #22!!!," Graf said on Facebook. "Also, well done to Angelique making Germany so proud with her talent and fighting spirit!" Williams, the world number one, looked to have stalled after winning Wimbledon a year ago, then falling in a US Open semi-final in September and losing in the finals of the Australian and French Open this season. "It's been tough not to think about the record," Williams said. "I've lost twice this year trying to get it. "That makes the victory even sweeter knowing how hard I worked for it - number 22 is awesome." The match was a re-run of the Melbourne final won by the German five months ago. Williams' success at Wimbledon came 20 years after Graf appeared in her last Wimbledon. Kerber admitted she was over-run on the day: "I played the best I could today. I didn't lose the match, she won. I had one break point and I could do nothing. "Of course I went out there today to win the match, that's for sure. But at the end I was trying everything, but she deserved it today. "After this amazing two weeks, I just can say that I gave everything. Of course, I'm disappointed. But at the end I'm also proud about that what I did, also after Paris," Kerber said, referring to her first-round loss in the French Open earlier this year. "I've reached my second grand slam final in this year. I really enjoyed it. I will never forget the feeling." Kerber was broken once in each set of the tight match, dropping the opening set in the final game and going down 5-3 in the eighth game of the second before Williams closed out victory on her first match point. The title, the 71st of her career, came 14 years after she won her first Wimbledon in 2002.
