Angelique Kerber beats Serena Williams: Eight interesting facts about historic Australian Open final

New Delhi: The women's singles final of the Australian Open 2016 on Saturday proved yet again why live sport is the world's greatest reality show – unscripted and totally unpredictable.

Ahead of the finale, fans had little doubt as to who would triumph in this David and Goliath clash at the Rod Laver Arena.

However, to the surprise of most, Angelique Kerber pulled off a spectacular win that will be remembered by tennis fans for years to come.

The 28-year-old completed a 6-4, 3-6, 6-4 win against the world number one and defending champion Serena Williams to stun the sporting world.

Though the American was far from best, Kerber showed no signs of nerves and gave a solid account of herself on the big stage.

As fans witnessed a truly historic event at Melbourne Park, here are some interesting facts from the Williams-Kerber duel.

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1) Kerber became the first player to beat Serena in the Australian Open finals. Before Saturday, the latter held a 6-0 record.

2) This was the American's first loss in a major final that went to three sets.

3) It took the German 33 Grand Slams to win a title, which places her sixth on the list for longest waits among women.

4) Kerber made only 13 unforced errors compared to Williams who made a shocking 46.

5) Kerber became the first German since the legendary Steffi Graf (1994) to win the Australian Open title.

6) Kerber is now also the first player from her country to win a Grand Slam title of any kind since Graf's French Open win in 1999.

7) This was Serena's 5th loss in a Grand Slam final. She has been part of 26 finals.

8) Kerber will now move up to number two in the WTA world rankings, while Serena will retain her top spot.