After Williams needed all of 48 minutes to overwhelm Elena Vesnina 6-2, 6-0 at the All England Club, older sister Venus failed to join in the family fun, losing to Kerber 6-4, 6-4 in Thursday’s second semifinal.
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“I’m not going to think about that match”, he said, referring to the German’s stunning 6-4 3-6 6-4 win in Melbourne.
So now, instead of an all-Williams final on Saturday, it will be Kerber against No. 1 Serena in a rematch of the Australian Open final won by the German in January.
But she now has a chance to make amends for those unexpected defeats and claim a 22nd grand slam singles title. But I think that’s what makes me different.
“I have much more experience right now”. Sometimes when you are fighting, sometimes you want something so bad, it can hinder you a little bit. “But I think her level is closer to this than some of the things we’ve seen in the last month”. “I think that’s how I feel”. She won so many grand slams and titles.
“We’ve had tough matches before and I knew she could bring it to me on this surface”, she said. “I don’t talk about that anymore”.
Williams’ serve was in fine form, reaching 123 miles per hour and producing 11 aces against the 50th-ranked Vesnina, who was participating in her first major semifinal and trying to become the first unseeded woman in the Open era to reach the title match at the All England Club.
An increasingly tired looking Williams, 36, wilted under the pressure and made a string of errors, surrendering the set by burying a forehand into the net.
“I did a lot of what I wanted to do”. During this year’s tournament, Miss Williams reached 82 decibels – but her record is an ear-splitting 88.9 decibels.
“I felt like I could have played better”.
“We’ve played so sporadically the last few years”, she said. She came out swinging, ready to win. She was fearless. That’s something I learned.
“I’ve been working at this since I was three years old”.
Serena, though, gave a male journalist short shrift when asked about the hot, though sensitive, topic in her post-match press conference.
The six-time Wimbledon champion lost one point on her first serve in the whole match against Vesnina, produced 10 aces and fired a total of 22 winners.
“It would be great because then we’d be guaranteed to have a Williams on the trophy and that’s the ultimate goal for both”, she said.
And while there was room for improvement on that front, it was more potent than the Williams delivery. “The scoreline just reflected me doing what I know I can do”. It was not my first semi-final in a grand slam.
She occasionally kept pace in the rallies and tried everything to turn the tide, rushing to the net, drop-shots and once even looking up to the sky in hope of some divine intervention.
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From the moment the 34-year-old nonchalantly broke serve in the opening game the writing was on the wall for a leaden-footed Vesnina who at least lasted three minutes longer than Dinara Safina did against Venus Williams in the previous shortest women’s semi-final in 2009.
