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Australian Open 2017: Serena Williams forgets to thank fiance Alexis Ohanian

Melissa Singer
  • 12 reading now

As any Oscar winner would attest, you always forget to thank someone in your acceptance speech.

On Saturday night, Australian Open women's champion Serena Williams gave a gracious acceptance speech after beating her sister, Venus, in straight sets 6-4 6-4.

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Serena Williams claims 23rd Grand Slam title

Serena Williams has beaten her sister Venus 6-4 6-4 in the Australia Open final to claim a 23rd Grand Slam title.

She thanked God, her family, her manager, her coach and everyone associated with the tournament.

But her fiance, Alexis Ohanian, attending his first Australian Open since their engagement in December, was omitted.

Fans on social media and international sporting commentary teams – including ESPN's Chris Fowler – noticed Ohanian, the co-founder of Reddit, was not mentioned.

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Others said given he wasn't part of her broader tennis journey that it was more appropriate for her to thank him in private.

Serena later told ESPN the omission was an oversight, saying she wanted to keep her acceptance speech simple and straightforward.

Serena said having her sister in the final made it a very emotional affair for her whole family.

"It's never about letting her win and never about her letting me win. It's about playing the best we can," she said in her post-match interview with Channel Seven.

The win takes Serena Williams' grand slam record to 23, just one shy of the record set by Australian Margaret Court, who was in the stands at Rod Laver Arena to witness the match between the siblings.

The seven-times Open champion also switched shoes after her win for a pair of custom Air Jordans, the signature shoe of retired basketballer Michael Jordan, who wore number 23.

She revealed Nike had made the shoes for her in readiness for her 23rd grand slam victory.

The match was not free of controversial moments, with Serena breaking a racquet after losing a game on her serve in the first set.

During the tournament, Serena said she had not given much thought to her engagement and was focused on the job at hand.

"It feels good. I really haven't thought about it too much. I wasn't going to think about it until after the tournament. I keep saying that in February I will start looking at the bigger picture of my life," she said.

"[Ohanian] is an incredibly nice person. He really treats everyone the same, which is really cool to see."

The couple, who became engaged in Rome last month, have not yet set a date for their wedding.

On Saturday night she said her sisters would be her bridesmaids.