Kerber, Williams set up a repeat of 2016 Wimbledon final

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Wilson Blade 9

Just like in 2016, the Wimbledon final will feature Angelique Kerber and Serena Williams. Then, Serena won 7-5 6-3 and ever since they haven’t faced each other, mostly because the American was absent because of pregnancy. Serena will be playing her 10th Wimbledon final (third consecutive!), trying to win her eighth title in London.

In the first women’s semifinal on Friday, Kerber eliminated fellow Grand Slam champion Jelena Ostapenko, who was playing her maiden Wimbledon semifinal, 6-3 6-3. Already after the first five games of the match, the 12th-seeded Ostapenko’s count of unforced errors was 11, compared to Kerber’s only 1. Those stats speak about the Latvian’s aggressive style, but this time she didn’t manage to counterbalance the errors with winners, as Kerber’s winners-to-unforced-errors differential when the match completed was +3 compared to Ostapenko’s -6.

Games went with serve until the seventh game of the first set, when seed No.11 Kerber broke Ostapenko, held on to that lead and continued the momentum in the second set, going 3-0 up, and then 5-1. Ostapenko saved a match point in the seventh game of the second set and gained one break back, but it was not sufficient to defeat the two-time Grand Slam champion from Germany.

In the second women’s semifinal, the 25th-seeded Williams was imperious on serve against Julia Goerges all the way until serving for the match at 5-3 in the second set, when the German 13th seed earned her first break points of the match, converting her third one to try to stay alive, but the German wasn’t capable of holding her serve in the following game and Williams triumphed 6-2 6-4 in one hour and ten minutes.

 

4 COMMENTS

  1. Well, what did you expect? Not surprised at all that these two are in the final. What’s Kerber’s head-to-head against Serena again? Hmmm…March on to victory, Queen/Living Legend Serena!

  2. I agree with TheRealDeal; is anyone actually suprised? It’s been a very odd tournament, especially during week one but I’m glad these two are in the final. Both very respectful, kind and hard working players – but Kerber is no match for Serena. All hail the GOAT

  3. Have to say I have mixed feelings about Serena’s return. Clearly she is a brilliant player, but what I like in tennis is a really good competition where you can get emotionally involved and find yourself hoping one or other player will win and following it through to the outcome. Whereas Serena almost always wins easily and its not usually much of a competition so all you can do is admire her skill which for me isn’t really enough to sustain interest for a whole match. I just watched Serena vs Julia Goerges and really, it was a bit of a yawn. Maybe if another really great player emerged who could stand up to her that would make it more interesting, but not looking likely.

  4. I saw the match! I was also convinced that Serena would win, but it is a pleasant surprise to see Angelique Kerber back in business. True, Serena gave away a lot, but Kerber did Everything right. What a champ!! it’s gutsy to come back like this after such a long dive. Congratulations to Angie! As for Serena, she has made a remarkable tournament very soon after child birth and should be proud of it, even if it doesn’t feel that way for the moment. Sure she’ll be back!

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