She beat Serena Williams last night. So who exactly is Angelique Kerber?

No-one beats Serena Williams. Specifically, no-one beats Serena Williams in a Grand Slam final.

She has single-handedly been the most consistent and dominating force to occupy a female sport in years. An unforgiving brick-like wall that so many female tennis players are yet to conquer.

And yet, last night, Angelique Kerber said, “No, thanks. It’s my time.”

Within hours, Kerber made sure tennis fans across the globe looked twice. She made sure they sat a little taller, squinted a little harder, and re-checked that score. Because she’d beaten the unbeatable.

And ruined many-a-bookie’s day.

So who exactly is Angelique Kerber?

Kerber celebrated her 28th birthday on the first day of the Melbourne tournament, 13 years after turning professional.

Born in Bremen, Germany, she grew up with father as her coach for a long time and now resides in Puszczykowo, Poland.

Hailing from a tennis family, her grandparents own a tennis facility named after her, and she has previously spoken about how she touched her first racquet when she was just three-years-old.

Kerber speaks German, Polish and English just to make you feel a little less talented and a little more inferior, is a Brand Ambassador for Porsche and boasts her own line of tennis gear.

And who is she expecting to hear from straight after this historic win? Steffi Graf, no less.

The left-hander is the first German to win the tournament since Steffi Graf last did in 1994.

Watch her post-match interview and you sense you’re watching a player with the self-belief of someone who has just toppled the world’s best player, and the humility to acknowledge it doesn’t yet feel quite real.

“My dream came true after that match point,” she told her post match interview.

And a dream come true she deserves.