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Tennis-Serena beats Kerber in Wimbledon final to match Graf's record

LONDON, July 9 (Reuters) - Serena Williams beat Germany's Angelique Kerber 7-5 6-3 to claim a seventh Wimbledon singles title and equal Steffi Graf's professional era record of 22 grand slam singles crowns on Saturday. The 34-year-old American edged a high-quality final on a blustery Centre Court as she avenged a surprise loss to Kerber in the final of this year's Australian Open. Fourth seed Kerber stuck to her guns in a fiercely-fought first set but wavered at 5-6 when a couple of unforced errors gave a fired-up Williams the chance to grab the opener, which she did on her second set point. World number one Williams faced a moment of danger when Kerber earned a first break point at 3-3 in the second set but she responded by blasting down consecutive aces to stay ahead. Under severe pressure throughout the contest Kerber crumbled in the next game, skewing a backhand wide to give Williams a 5-3 lead and the chance to serve for the title. Williams was in no mood to prolong the contest and stormed 40-0 ahead, sealing victory with a volley on her first match point before collapsing backwards joyfully on to the Centre Court turf. (Reporting by Martyn Herman; editing by Ken Ferris)