This was a shockingly lopsided win for Kerber, who breezed through the first set and had momentum through the entire second set. Williams and Kerber also met in the Wimbledon final in 2016, with Williams cruising to a 7-5, 6-3 victory. This is the second time Kerber has beaten Williams in a Grand Slam title—she did it at the Australian Open in 2016—and the win puts Kerber within a French Open title of capturing the elusive career Grand Slam.

Serena was quite emotional after the match, reflecting on her return to tennis following the birth of her daughter last autumn:

No. 11 seed Kerber was just the second seeded opponent Williams faced in the tournament, after her triumph over No. 13 seed Julia Georges in the semifinal, and Kerber was the highest seed to advance to the semifinal after nine of the top ten seeds were eliminated in the first three rounds of the tournament. Williams was seeded 25th, but was a betting favorite heading into the final. In a tournament of upsets, Kerber’s win, and certainly the ease with which she pulled it off, qualifies as yet another.