“She was and still is my idol”, Kerber said of Graf, who won 22 Grand Slam titles – an Open-era record that Serena Williams is gunning to match in Melbourne.
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Australian-born Johanna Konta, who now has British citizenship, plays a women’s semifinal against Angelique Kerber on Rod Laver Arena after defending champion Serena Williams takes on Agnieszka Radwanska.
Williams hasn’t played a left-hander so far this tournament and said that, combined with Kerber’s win over two-time champion Victoria Azarenka in the quarterfinals, were making her wary.
“I needed time off just to take a minute and just chill and re-heal, get ready”, she said after the 64-minute battering of the Pole.
Radwanska solidified her chops-in a cold comfort kind of way-as the best player never to have won a major. I think she will go out there and she knows that she must play also good tennis to beat me.
Williams, now World No.1, wasted no time in getting down to business, notching up 18 aces in the first set, ultimately not dropping a single game in the opening session. Asked if she would seek Graf’s advice ahead of the final, Kerber said: “Steffi, write me please!”.
Moreover, Radwanska enters this semi-final clash riding a 12-match winning streak, that extends back to her winning the WTA Finals Singapore at the end of last season, as well as the Shenzhen Open tournament at the beginning of the new year. Then Serena Williams remembered that she was Serena Williams.
After coming within two matches of becoming the first player since Graf in 1988 to achieve the calendar-year grand slam in September, Williams decided not to play again in 2015. Still, she wondered how it would impact her game.
Kerber has taken on Graf, her childhood idol, as something of a mentor, practising with her past year in Las Vegas and maintaining contact since.
“I accept the score but at least it should be five games in the second set”, said Wiktorowski.
Radwańska (World No.4) managed to recover some of her dignity in the second set, taking four games. “But I didn’t think I’d be doing so much, so fast; so thank you so much for all of your support”, Williams added, addressing the crowd and her fanbase, known as “Rena’s Army”.
Singles tennis is a lonely sport, yet it seems, Williams is at her best and most comfortable when she’s all alone on the court, not off of it.
The No. 4 seed from Poland finally got on the board by holding serve in the opening game of the second set.
“But otherwise I didn’t really think that I was playing bad”.
“It’s really special to reach my first Grand Slam final”. “I definitely block it out”, Williams said after her 6-0, 6-4 victory over Radwanska.
Konta stayed on the attack as her serve started to fire and she surged 4-3 in front. “Each time I come back… and step on Rod Laver Arena I have this lovely memory”.
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“She (Konta) is a tough opponent and she will win many tournaments in the future, for sure”.
