Serena Williams vs. Venus Williams: Australian Open 2017 Final Score, Reaction

Serena Williams won the 2017 Australian Open after beating sister Venus 6-4, 6-4 in the final in Melbourne on Saturday, breaking Steffi Graf's Open era record with her 23rd Grand Slam singles title.

The 35-year-old American has also gone back above Angelique Kerber into the top spot on the WTA rankings after winning her seventh Australian Open. The Open's Twitter account confirmed Williams' historic accomplishments:

The match began with a rapid exchange of breaks, with Serena earning the first. Ben Rothenberg of the New York Times described the shot that broke serve and gave Serena the opening game:

Three more breaks followed, as Venus managed to even things at two apiece. ESPN's Brad Gilbert noted where things were going wrong for Serena:

Serena's frustration was palpable, most notably illustrated by her reaction to a costly slip during an early rally. The tournament's official Twitter account relayed the footage:

Venus became the first player to hold serve and in the process carved out a 3-2 lead. However, it was 3-3 when Serena broke back with a staggering backhand down the line to move one game ahead.

Venus was struggling to hold because of her problems on second serve, issues WTA Insider detailed:

Fortunately for Venus, her forehand was working well. In fact, she twice used the shot to move 0-30 in front in the eighth game. Rothenberg observed how the forehand has uncharacteristically been a chief weapon for Venus in Melbourne:

However, Serena refused to buckle. She saved the break point and held serve for a two-game lead. Venus then also stayed strong on serve to trail by just one.

Serena had been erratic through nine games, but there was no wasted motion as she served for the set. It was 30-0 in no time at all, and a booming ace gave the No. 2 seed three set points. One more ace wrapped up the set.

The tournament's official Twitter account provided the numbers from the first set, with Serena just edging the main categories:

While the first set was dominated by break points, both players held serve to start the second. Serena then appeared set to take control after a double-fault from Venus gave her the chance to break.

However, Venus stood firm and forced back-to-back errors from Serena after strong first serves. Eventually, Venus held to move 2-1 in front.

Venus then had a chance to force deuce and a possible break of her own in the next game, but she inexplicably hit into the net with Serena well out of position. A strong hold followed, though, as Venus continued to dominate on first serve to go 3-2 in front.

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It was 3-3 when Serena made a move to force her own break. A stunning backhand put her in control before Venus ended a rally by smashing a forehand too far and out.

Serena finally claimed the break at the third time of asking after hitting another blistering double-hander. She now seemed on the brink of the title.

One of the keys to Serena's control was how she was still bossing the match on second serve, per Christopher Clarey of the New York Times:

The way Serena attacked Venus' second serve also played a role:

Serving to stay in the match, Venus appeared to hurt herself winning a rally to go 15-0 in front. Yet she held heroically to keep her slim hopes alive.

Those hopes looked stronger when a 24-shot rally ended with Serena hitting into the net to give Venus a 30-15 lead and a chance for one more break.

However, Serena regained her composure and forced a championship point, one she duly took when Venus lobbed out, allowing her sister to make a worthy piece of history.

Reaction

Serena was keen to congratulate Venus for her role in her historic success:

Serena insisted 36-year-old Venus would still be playing next year:

Venus also indicated how she'd like to return to this tournament:

There may be some doubts about Venus' future, but it seems Serena is intent on remaining the dominant force on the WTA for a little while longer. Based on her performances in Melbourne, Serena is showing few signs of slowing down.

Her record-setting win is ominous news for the rest of the WTA.