Asked after she beat Johanna Konta in the semifinals if she would seek out Graf’s advice, Kerber laughed and said, “Steffi, write me please”.
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The American won 6-0 6-4 under the Rod Laver Arena roof, with rain pouring down outside at Melbourne Park.
The first set of the semifinals was over in 20 minutes, with Williams hitting 18 winners and Radwanska, in her fifth major semifinal, registering one – in the fourth game.
The No. 4-ranked Radwanska broke Williams’ serve to level the second set at 3-3, but Williams broke Radwanska’s serve in the ninth game and closed with three aces and a forehand victor to win the match in 1 hour, 4 minutes.
Williams’ win over fourth-seeded Radwanska provided yet another reminder of her dominance in the women’s game.
“The work pays off. I was working very hard in the last few years”. You can never underestimate Kerber and she has beaten me before.
Konta was bidding to become the first British woman to reach a Grand Slam final since Virginia Wade at Wimbledon in 1977, and the first in Melbourne since Wade in 1972, but it was not to be. “Unbelievable serve. Everything, she was going for it. I couldn’t do much”.
“I’m really excited to be in another final”.
Agnieszka Radwanska described Serena Williams’ first set in their Australian Open semifinal as the best performance she has ever faced. Most spectators – including a woman with a sign reading: “Just Married But Willing to Exchange for Federer” – were behind him, applauding Djokovic’s service faults and giving Federer a standing ovation when he broke to go ahead 4-2 in the third set.
Serena Williams, left, of the United States is congratulated by Agnieszka Radwanska of Poland after winning their semifinal match at the Australian Open tennis championships in Melbourne, Australia, Thursday, Jan. 28, 2016.
“I must play my best tennis to have a chance”, Kerber said after making a first grand slam final.
“I think I played well, especially in the first set, I was able to do everything I needed to do and hitting all the right shots with little to no errors”, Williams said in her press conference.
“I love it in Australia; it’s the only tournament that I play that if I lose early, I still hang out”, Serena said.
Seventh seed Angelique Kerber tamed British hope Johanna Konta to reach the Australian Open final on Thursday, where she will face dominant world number one Serena Williams. “I mean, it’s just fantastic to play against No. 1 in the first Grand Slam of the year”.
Williams moved on to the Australian Open semifinals with scores against Sharapova of 6-4 and 6-1 when they played each other during the quarterfinals Tuesday.
It was that attitude that helped her overturn a 2-5 second set deficit in her quarter-final against Victoria Azarenka and gave her a first win over the Belarusian in their seventh match.
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“I was really trying to get off to a fast start”, Williams said.
