Serena Williams and Andy Murray Win 2016 Wimbledon Singles Titles

world #1 serena williams defeated world #4 angelique kerber 7-5, 6-3 on saturday to win the 2016 wimbledon singles championship. williams now has 22 major singles titles, tying steffi graf of germany for the second most in the open era. margaret court of australia holds the record with 24.

williams, 34, won her second consecutive all-england trophy - and seventh overall. hall of famer martina navratilova set a record with nine wimbledon singles titles. williams' 22 major singles wins include six australian open, six u.s. open and three french open titles.

"definitely had some sleepless nights, if i'm honest, with a lot of stuff. my goal is to win always at least a slam a year. it was getting down to the pressure. it's been incredibly difficult not to think about it. i had a couple of tries this year. but it makes the victory even sweeter to know how hard i worked for it," said williams afterwards.

williams avenged her australian open final loss to kerber earlier this year. the fourth seed and uber-competitive german lefty played solid tennis in the final, but williams' serve was unstoppable. she hit 13 aces, won 38 of 43 first serve points, and faced just one break point the whole match: at three-all in the second set, williams hit back-to-back aces of 117 and 124 mph to solidify the game.

despite her stunning loss at the french open this year to world #2 garbine muguruza of spain, williams has reached a major final in seven of the last eight tournaments. kerber said later, "i was trying everything, but she deserved it today. she really played an unbelievable match. i think we both played on a high level."    

world # 2 andy murray of great britain defeated milos raonic 6-4, 7-6, 7-6 on sunday to win the 2016 wimbledon singles championship. murray captured his third career title, and has been in the finals of the last three majors. he lost the australian and french open this year to world #1 novak djokovic - whose third round loss to american sam querrey shocked the world and opened up the draw.

murray, 29, has played in 11 career major singles finals, but this was his first against someone other than world #3 roger federer, or djokovic. as such, he was heavily favored to win against the sixth seeded raonic of canada. in 2013, murray famously ended britain's 77-year drought with no major male singles champion. the quest ultimately proved burdensome.

"it is different. i feel happier this time. i feel more content this time. i feel like this was sort of more for myself more than anything, and my team as well. last time, it was just pure relief, and i didn't really enjoy the moment as much, whereas i'm going to make sure i enjoy this one," said murray.

judy murray, andy's mother and former british fed cup captain, referred to the old phenomenon of fred perry's all-england club victory in 1936.  she called it, "the constant, 'when are you going to wimbledon? when are you going to wimbledon? when are you going to wimbledon?" 

ivan lendl coached murray when he captured his first two major singles trophies, including at the 2012 u.s. open. despite their quick success, they split up, before reuniting last month. as he sat on the sideline wiping away tears, murray would conclude, "to do it twice here...an event where there is a lot of pressure on me to perform well, i'm very proud with how i've handled that over the years."