By Richard Pagliaro | Thursday, July 7, 2016
Angelique Kerber spoiled the prospect of an all-Williams sisters final, defeating Venus Williams, 6-4, 6-4, to set up a Wimbledon final against Serena Williams.
Photo credit: Stephen White/CameraSport
Angelique Kerber ended Venus Williams' inspired Wimbledon run with a stirring sprint of her own.
As match point escalated into the longest point of the match, Kerber was pushed several feet behind the baseline when she delivered the jolting exclamation point.
More: Serena Routs Vesnina, Rolls Into Ninth Wimbledon Final
The Australian Open champion capped a frenetic 19-shot rally curling a crosscourt running forehand winner and dropping to her knees in elation.
Kerber stretched Williams with depth and shredded her with angle scoring a 6-4, 6-4 victory to surge into her first Wimbledon final and spoil the prospect of a fifth Williams sisters title match at SW19.
"The last point was amazing," Kerber told the BBC afterward. "I know that she played very well. She beat here a lot of good players so I was ready. I was trying to move good. It's just a very good feeling to make the final."
The 36-year-old Venus Williams was bidding to become the oldest Wimbledon singles finalist since a 37-year-old Martina Navratilova was runner-up to Conchita Martinez in 1994. Though her spirit was willing, Williams lacked the legs and sharpness to deter the ultra-consistent Kerber.
"I mean, totally I wanted to win. I mean, what are you going to do?" Venus said afterward. "You just step up and do the best you can. I ran into a better player, so next time."
Kerber's conquest of Venus Williams sets up an Australian Open final rematch with Serena Williams.
In her first Grand Slam final, Kerber stunned Serena, 6-4, 3-6, 6-4, to capture the Australian Open crown in January.
The fourth-seeded German will try to make history as the first woman to defeat the Williams sisters back-to-back at The Championships when she faces the world No. 1 in Saturday's final.
"It's a completely new tournament, new surface, everything is completely new," Kerber said of her rematch with Serena. "I will just try to go out there with a lot of confidence trying to play my best tennis and trying to give everything I can."
The reigning Wimbledon champion obliterated Elena Vesnina, 6-2, 6-0, in a 48-minute rout to roar into her ninth Wimbledon final.
Continuing her quest to equal Steffi Graf's Open Era record of 22 Grand Slam titles, Serena Williams said she aims to play the final with the fearlessness Kerber showed in the Melbourne championship match.
"I made a lot of errors. She made little to no unforced errors," Williams said of the Australian Open final. "It was still a three set match. I felt like I could have played better. I felt like she played great.
"She came out swinging, ready to win. She was fearless. That's something I learned. When I go into a final, I, too, need to be fearless like she was. It was inspiring afterwards to realize there's a lot of things that I need to improve on."
Improvement has come rapidly for Kerber, who grew up looking up to Graf, and cites a hitting session with the Hall of Famer in Las Vegas last year for helping ignite her game to a higher level.
It took Kerber 33 Grand Slam appearances to reach her first major final in Melbourne. She's now advanced to Grand Slam finals in two of her last three major appearances and has not dropped a set in this tournament.
The left-hander has added a bit more sting to her serve, she's playing with control and clarity, her compact strokes are difficult to read and she's used the drop shot to devastating effect at times.
Four consecutive service breaks started today's second semifinal.
The six-foot-one Williams is one of the most menacing servers in Wimbledon history. The five-foot-eight Kerber is one of the most accurate returners in the sport and she tested the five-time champion in every service game at the outset.
Stepping into the court to take the ball on the rise, Kerber robbed the American of reaction time. The left-hander broke three times in a row building a 5-2 lead.
Five-time Wimbledon champion Williams has adopted a vegan diet and adheres to a disciplined schedule in an effort to cope with the challenges of her ongoing battle with Sjogren’s Syndrome, the energy-sapping disease that sometimes leaves her feeling like a Formula 1 car running on a half tank of gas. She looked like a woman short on fuel in the early stages as Kerber beat her to the ball in running exchanges.
"I know that she played long matches, in the first week especially," Kerber said. "But I was trying to moving her, as well. That was the plan. That is always the plan when you play against Venus because when she have the ball on the racquet, she just hits the ball from left to right, and you just run.
"That was my plan, to being the one to be aggressive. Also her serve, I mean, returning very well. When she hits the serve, sometimes you have no chance to get it."
Williams finally began to gain some traction in rallies, forcing a backhand error to break back then holding for the first time all day to close to 4-5.
Probing Williams' weaker forehand wing, Kerber coaxed three forehand errors to serve out the first set.
An unruly forehand, some sluggish footwork and the challenge of reading the German's concise strokes all conspired against the 36-year-old veteran. Williams sprayed a forehand to surrender serve in the opening game of the second set.
Playing deep cross-court combinations, Kerber reeled off eight of the first 10 points in snatching a 2-0 second-set lead.
Feathering a fine half volley winner, Williams saved a break point in the fifth game, staying close at 2-3. The former No. 1 applied pressure in the ensuing game, but Kerber quickly quieted the threat.
Shrugging off successive double faults, Kerber dug out of a 0-30 hole smacking an ace to spark a run of four straight points. Williams could not land her returns as the fourth seed stretched her lead to 4-2.
Kerber's jolting forehand strike concluded a 71-minute conquest in style.