Angelique Kerber was not about to be overwhelmed by the setting or the stakes in this Wimbledon final. She knew exactly what to expect — and what to do — against Serena Williams.
Two years after losing to Williams with a title on the line at Center Court, Kerber came through. So steady, so patient, so accurate throughout, she never really gave Williams much of a chance this time, putting together a 6-3, 6-3 victory on Saturday for her first championship at the All England Club and third major overall.
“I think it’s the experience. You have to go through all the things — the good things, the bad things — and then you need to learn,” said Kerber, the first German to win Wimbledon since Steffi Graf in 1996.
Photo: AP
“I know that against Serena, I have to play my best tennis, especially in the important moments,” said Kerber, who won the Australian Open and US Open in 2016, but was runner-up to Williams at Wimbledon that season.
“Angelique played really well,” Williams said. “She played out of her mind.”
Kerber made only five unforced errors the entire match, 19 fewer than Williams. Perhaps more impressive was this: She broke Williams in four of nine service games.
In doing so, Kerber prevented Williams from claiming an eighth title at Wimbledon and 24th from all Grand Slam tournaments, which would have equaled Margaret Court’s record. As things stand, Williams holds the mark for the half-century of professional tennis, one ahead of Graf.
The final started more than two hours late, because they had to wait for the end of Novak Djokovic’s five-set victory over Rafael Nadal in a men’s semi-final that was suspended the night before.
Djokovic was to play Kevin Anderson yesterday — with the first serve in the final due at about press time last night — who won his semi-final against John Isner 26-24 in the fifth set on Friday night.
Nadal said it was an error to keep the Center Court roof closed as he lost an epic semi-final.
Nadal was defeated 6-4, 3-6, 7-6 (11/9), 3-6, 10-8 in the second-longest semi-final ever played at the tournament, at 5 hours, 15 minutes.
It was a second day of epic drama at the All England Club after Anderson needed 6 hours, 36 minutes to beat Isner.
That set the record for the longest semi-final at the tournament and became the second-longest Grand Slam singles match ever played.
Djokovic and Nadal’s match was started under the roof and finished under it on Saturday, despite clear blue skies and temperatures hovering close to 30°C.
Asked if it was logical to have the roof closed, the world No. 1 said: “No, but I will not talk more about this. If I talk about it, then you are going to write about this, and I don’t want you to write about this today.”
He said that his semi-final should have been played before the Anderson-Isner match on Friday.
That semi-final only finished just before 8pm, making it impossible for Nadal and Djokovic to finish before the 11pm curfew.
“It’s true that the schedule was a little bit tight knowing that the first match was between two big servers,” said the 32-year-old. “Of course you can’t predict that they play that long, but, yeah, knowing that, maybe would be better if they play us first at 1[pm], that’s all.”
In the boys’ singles, Taiwan’s Tseng Chun-hsin defeated Jack Draper of the UK in the final yesterday.
Tseng, who turns 17 next month, won 6-1, 6-7 (2/7), 6-4 in 2 hours, 5 minutes, hitting eight aces to five.
Tseng reached the final with a 6-3, 6-1 victory over China’s Mu Tao, needing just 1 hour, 1 minute to dispatch his opponent.
Additional reporting by staff writer
OUT AGAINST INDONESIA: Taiwan reached the semi-finals at the tournament for the first time by defeating Denmark, with Chou Tien-chen beating Viktor Axelsen Taiwan yesterday crashed out of the Thomas Cup team competition in Chengdu, China, but achieved their best result at the top-tier badminton event by reaching the semi-finals. Indonesia were too good in the semis, winning 3-0 to advance to today’s final against China, who eliminated Malaysia 3-1. In the opening singles of the men’s team clash at the Hi-Tech Zone Sports Center Gymnasium 2, Anthony Ginting defeated Taiwan’s Chou Tien-chen 21-18, 21-19 in 51 minutes, which put a huge hole in Taiwan’s aspirations to perhaps even make the final. In the men’s doubles, Fajar Alfian and Muhammad Ardianto downed Lee Yang and Wang
Rafael Nadal on Tuesday lost in straight sets to 31st-ranked Jiri Lehecka in the fourth round at the Madrid Open, while Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei advanced to the semi-finals in the women’s doubles. Nadal said that he was feeling good about his progress following his latest injury layoff. Nadal called it a “positive week” in every way and said his body held up well. “I was able to play four matches, a couple of tough matches,” Nadal said. “So very positive, winning three matches, playing four matches at the high level of tennis. I enjoyed a lot playing at home. I leave here with
A soccer jersey carrying a national map including disputed Western Sahara has become a hot commodity in Morocco after a diplomatic dispute with Algeria. Retailers said RS Berkane jerseys have been flying off the shelves after a Confederation of African Football (CAF) Cup match against Algerian club USM Alger was canceled last month over the jerseys. “We are overwhelmed by the influx of messages and requests,” said Brahim Rabii, representative of the official RS Berkane jersey distributor. Algeria broke off diplomatic relations with Morocco in 2021, partly over the issue of Western Sahara. The former Spanish colony is largely controlled by Morocco, but claimed
When 42-1 underdog James ‘Buster’ Douglas shocked ‘Iron’ Mike Tyson 34 years ago at the Tokyo Dome, the result reverberated worldwide. Spectators at the 45,000-plus seater venue witnessed one of boxing’s biggest upsets as unbeaten heavyweight champion Tyson was knocked out in the 10th round by the unheralded Douglas in February 1990. Boxing returns to the famous venue on Monday for the first time since that unforgettable encounter when Japan’s undisputed super-bantamweight world champion Naoya ‘Monster’ Inoue puts his belts on the line against Mexican Luis Nery. The 31-year-old Inoue (26-0, 23 KOs) is a huge star in Japan and is just