Serena Williams, Angelique Kerber reach finals of Wimbledon 2018

Serena Williams and Angelique Kerber march through to the finals of Wimbledon 2018 on Thursday defeating their respective opponents. Serena defeated Julia Gorges 6-2, 6-4 in straight sets to clinch her 10th final at the All England Club, whereas Angelique Kerber got the better of Jelena Ostapenko 6-3, 6-3 to book a place in the all important final.

Serena Williams is one win away from a eighth Wimbledon and a 24th Grand Slam title, which would equal Margaret Court’s record. She returned to the Tour in March having faced a critical period giving birth to her daughter last September. Despite her health scare and maternity break, she is now into a Grand Slam final for the 12th consecutive year.

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The American hit five aces with a serve that reached 119 mph, delivering 16 winners to only seven unforced errors. She covered the court so well with speed and effort and seemed even better from previous rounds. Serena looked in control of the game since the beginning and eventually triumphed in an easy encounter against the German.

“It’s crazy. I don’t even know how to feel, you know, because literally, I didn’t expect to do this well in my fourth tournament back. I just feel like when I don’t have anything to lose, I just can play so free, and that’s kind of what I’m doing.”, said Serena Williams.

Elsewhere, in the other semi final that took place between the Latvian Jelena Ostapenko and German Angelique Kerber, the latter managed to win the encounter with ease just as Serena Williams did. Kerber allowed Ostapenko to express herself and did not dictate much in the entire game. This resulted in 36 unforced errors by the Latvian in comparison to just seven by the German.

Williams versus Kerber will be a replay of the 2016 final at Wimbledon. Williams won that for a second consecutive title at the All England Club, then sat out last year while she was pregnant.

“Seeing her back, it’s great. I know that she is always pushing you to the limits to play your best tennis. This is the only chance to beat her.”, said Kerber.

Angelique Kerber has lost six out of the eight matches played against Serena Williams. Though it will be an enthralling encounter on Saturday from 1830 hrs (IST) onwards.