“I think from then on out I’ve been really focused that she’s someone that I, and everyone, really has to take very seriously”. No. 7 Kerber broke No. 14 Azarenka’s serve to end the match, her first win in seven matches against the Belarussian. Everything else was a whaling Williams victor. “She’s serving unbelievably good”, Kerber said Friday. Nothing at all, actually.
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This will be Serena Williams’ seventh Australian Open final and 26th Grand Slam final overall, while for Angelique Kerber this will be her first Grand Slam final.
Still, Konta has left Melbourne Park with £393,000 in her kitbag, a cheque that will fund her around the globe as she continues to chase titles and ranking points. It wasn’t resignation, just helplessness.
Having watched the previous semi final be a blink-and-you-will-miss affair, the fans who paid good money to be at Rod Laver Arena wanted to see a contest in the second semi final. It was like barracking at a funeral.
From the start, the first Grand Slam of the season has been overshadowed by media reports alleging that tennis authorities had failed to thoroughly investigate evidence of match-fixing. She has also earned the most in prize money out of any female athlete ever, which is an estimated $36 million. Williams is alone in division one.
“I’m really excited to be in the final – it just kind of blows my mind right now”. “When you serve 190 km/h wide…” “I know that she brings a lot to the game”.
Williams has a 5-1 record against Kerber but after losing to her in Cincinnati in 2012, the American is wary of the threat she poses.
Williams romped through the first set in just 20 minutes before Radwanska showed some fight in the second, but she was unable to stop the momentum of the American, who clinched her place in the final in 64 minutes. Arguably the best sportswoman on the planet, the superstar from the United States has won four of the last five grand slams, including three of the four in 2015.
Serena Williams of the United States celebrates after defeating Agnieszka Radwanska of Poland during in semifinal match at the Australian Open tennis championships in Melbourne, Australia, Thursday, Jan. 28, 2016. “I stress as much as the next person”. I haven’t played any lefties yet. But others’ peaks are Williams’s foothills. “She played a little slower. I m happy to have that and I ll be ready for the semi”, she said.
Momentarily, they played a game recognisable as tennis, mortal and lovely. Kerber has dropped She hasn’t dropped a set along the way.
“I think everything is stoppable at some point, I guess”, Williams said. Her admiration was genuine, since she rarely had to bother with crafting points herself. That was almost a quarter of her 17 throughout an impressively clean match. Now I’m in the finals here. We can’t believe that she can’t believe; she has made six finals here, and won them all.
She is now third in the all-time list after moving three clear of Chris Evert and Martina Navratilova’s 18 but she remains short of Australian Margaret Court, who is out in front on 24.
“I was really trying to get off to a fast start”, Williams said. “I’m looking forward to many more opportunities like that”.
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Hear that, Angelique Kerber? When the two met again, in the quarterfinals in Melbourne, Kerber won in straight sets.
