By Richard Pagliaro | Thursday, July 12, 2018
Serena Williams swept Julia Goerges, 6-2, 6-4, setting up a Wimbledon final rematch vs. Angelique Kerber.
Photo credit: Rob Newell/CameraSport
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Unleashing her daunting serve and devastating return, Williams produced her most dynamic tennis of the tournament sweeping Julia Goerges, 6-2, 6-4, charging into her 10th Wimbledon final.
Ten months after giving birth to daughter Alexis Olympia Ohanian and just 13 matches into her comeback, the 36-year-old mom has produced a remarkable run reaching her 30th Grand Slam final.
Powering through her pursuit of history, Williams can match Margaret Court's all-time record of 24 Grand Slam championships by capturing the Rosewater Dish on Saturday.
"It's crazy," said Williams after raising her Wimbledon record to 92-10. "I don't even know how to feel. Literally, I didn't expect to do well in my fourth tournament back in 16 months. I feel like when I don't have anything to lose I just play free and that's pretty much what I'm doing."
Swinging with relaxed aggression, the seven-time champion rides a 20-match Wimbledon winning streak into Saturday's final against rival Angelique Kerber in a rematch of the 2016 Wimbledon final.
The 11th-seeded Kerber carved up 2017 Roland Garros champion Jelena Ostapenko, 6-3, 6-3, advancing to her fourth Grand Slam final. Kerber and Williams have split two career major finals; Williams has won six of their eight meetings overall.
"I think grass is her best surface," Williams said of Kerber. "She plays so well here. She knows how to play on this court. She does it well. It's her second final in three years, is that right? That's wildly impressive.
"Believe me, I know she wants to go out there and win. So do I. I think it will be just like the last final, it will be a really good final. Hopefully it will be a good result."
Dropping a set for the first time in the fortnight with her 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 win over Camila Giorgi in Tuesday's quarterfinals, Williams exuded more energy today.
The former No. 1. won 27 of 31 first-serve points effectively snapping her slider serve wide dragging Goerges off the court and creating space for her first strike.
Commanding the center of the court, Williams asserted her advantage in movement and worked over Goerges' weaker backhand wing.
Mixing deep drives with sharp, short angles, Williams forced the 5'11" German to the slippery perimeter areas of the court.
The lone mis-step in an otherwise comprehensive performance came when Williams tightened up serving for the final at 5-3 and dropped serve for the only time all day.
Shrugging that lapse off, the 181st-ranked American ripped returns breaking right back to become the lowest-ranked woman to reach the Wimbledon final.
Making her maiden major semifinal appearance, Goerges was aiming to set up just the second all-German ladies Grand Slam final in history.
The 13th-seeded Goerges hit more winners than Williams—20 to 16—but time after time Williams delivered crunching shots on pivotal points beating the German by almost the same score as her 6-3, 6-4 triumph in last month's Roland Garros third round.
"Overall I think she knew how to win that match by her experience, and I didn't have that stage in my career yet," Goerges said. "I'm looking forward to getting there another time and getting more experience.
"But overall I'm not frustrated about the way I hit. I think that she steps up her game. Yeah, it's a big word, which is 'respect' towards me that she brings her A game in a lot of important moments. I think that's a positive way of thinking and approaching maybe the next time, as well."
Deadlocked at 2-all, Williams applied angle and aggresson to blow open the match.
A backhand winner down the line helped Williams hold and sparked a five-game run.
Fighting off a body serve, Williams opened the court jamming her two-hander into the corner then abruptly changed direction drawing the error to break for 4-2.
Williams blasted a backhand with such vigor it created collateral damage. Goerges clanked her second double fault to face triple set point.
In a crackling exchange, Williams whipped a flurry of forehands crosscourt inducing a sprayed forehand to finish the set winning eight of the last nine points.
The 25th-seeded American charged through the final four games to seize the 34-minute opening set then won the opening game of the second set stretching her roll to five games.
The 29-year-old Goerges wasn't playing poorly, but couldn't stay in step when Williams picked up the pace.
"Obviously we saw that she improved every single match she's playing here," Goerges said. "As I said, that's something which also shows that she has a lot of respect for me, coming there from the first point and really going for her shots."
The seven-time champion slid her fourth ace off the sideline capping a love hold in the third game. Williams had won 12 of 13 service points in the set when Goerges stepped to the line in the sixth game.
Two lapses in judgement cost Goerges the break. She opted to play a high backhand volley from near the doubles alley on a ball that was floating wide then poked a drop shot into the top of the tape. When the ball plopped back on the German's side, Williams had her third break for 4-2.
No champion is immune to sudden Centre Court jitters. Williams, who had surrendered just one point on serve in the second set, showed nerves falling into triple break point trap serving for the final.
While Williams denied the first two, Goerges jumped on a second serve and slapped a diagonal forehand return that rattled a lunging Williams' racquet. That bolt gave Goerges her first break of the day putting her back on serve, 4-5.
Refocusing, Williams amped up her intensity taking a love-30 lead.
A skittish Goerges sailed her fourth double fault to face triple match point. When Goerges floated a lob long, Williams was through to her 10th Wimbledon final in 70 minutes.
While her procession to a 30th Grand Slam final may have seemed inevtiable after each of the Top 10 seeds exited by the fourth round, Williams says she wasn't counting on anything.
Recalling her post-pregnancy body was so pained she was unable to walk to the mailbox 10 months ago, Williams delivered her most declarative performance of the season today and says she's intent on enjoying the rest of the ride.
"It is not inevtiable for me," Williams said. "I had a really tough delivery. I had to have multiple surgeries. I remember I couldn't even walk to my mailbox so it's definitely not normal. I'm taking everything as it is and just enjoying every moment."
Two years ago, Williams celebrated her 22nd major championship raising two fingers on each hand after out-dueling Kerber, 7-5, 6-3, in an electrifying Wimbledon final to equal Steffi Graf's Open Era record.
The world No. 181 can grab a share of the all-time Grand Slam title record this weekend.