Yet while Vinci is tricky and crafty, the flatter-hitting, leaden-footed Vesnina had nothing to hurt the American, who could not have enjoyed a more emphatic passage to her ninth final at the All England Club.
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And the eighth seed looked tired throughout, dropping her serve four times in the first set and also in the first game of the second.
The Williams sisters have combined for 11 singles titles at Wimbledon and five as a doubles team – the last coming in 2012.
There would be plenty more of that sort of body language from Vesnina, a two-time Wimbledon runner-up in doubles who was to face Serena and Venus in the quarterfinals of that event later in the day.
“I was very focused today because we’ve had a lot of tough matches before and I knew that on this surface she could really bring it to me”.
36-year-old Venus Williams, herself a five-time Wimbledon victor, had been turning back the clock at the all-England Club, but she ran out of steam against the 28-year old Kerber, the number 2 player in the world.
Angelique Kerber celebrates her win against Venus Williams.
Despite looking emotionally and physically drained by her longest run at Wimbledon for seven years, Venus didn’t throw in the towel.
“It’s just unbelievable, to beat Venus in the semis”, said Kerber, who beat Serena in the Australian Open final.
Williams was appearing in her first Grand Slam semi-final since the 2010 US Open and was the oldest major semi-finalist since Martina Navratilova at Wimbledon in 1994. “I’m 0-2 this year [Serena lost the Australian and French Open finals] so I’m determined to win one”.
After a bad start in the first set, the Russian had to start with a hold but Williams’ brilliance didn’t allow her to do such as she went on to get broken.
Kerber will now face Williams on Saturday, in a repeat of the Australian Open final in January when the German produced a stunning upset to clinch the title.
She insisted Thursday that she’s more relaxed and more confident on court thanks to that moment.
Serena and Venus have met in four Wimbledon finals, with Serena winning three and Venus winning one. Williams won 28 of 31 points she served, including the last 17.
Thursday morning, hours before her semifinal match against Elena Vesnina, Williams expressed her outrage at the story of a black man shot and killed by a police officer. It showed as Williams – a six-time and defending champion – raced to a 4-0 lead. She then held twice more to take the set.
Fans paid £126 for Centre Court tickets on both Wednesday and Thursday.
Angelique Kerber (4) bt.
“I’ve been working at this since I was three years old”. Now Serena is once again so close to that number. So, one match to go, for 22 remains the number she has been chasing since leaving the All England Club past year.
At 36, she was the oldest woman in the field at Wimbledon.
After earning a trip to the Wimbledon final, Serena Williams let reporters know that she wants her athletic accomplishments to transcend her gender.
“It’s just awesome to beat Venus in a tough match”, Kerber said afterward.
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John McEnroe said: “Serena’s practice session this morning was harder than that match”.
