I was helpless, admits Kerber

LONDON -- Defeated Wimbledon finalist Angelique Kerber admitted she was helpless to prevent the Serena Williams onslaught which powered the American to a seventh Wimbledon and record-equalling 22nd Grand Slam title.

The fourth seed, bidding to become the first German to win the Wimbledon crown since Steffi Graf in 1996, slipped to a battling 7-5, 6-3 loss in one of the better All England Club finals in recent years.

Kerber carved out just one break point in the 81-minute final in the seventh game of the second set.

But in a flash, it was gone as the 34-year-old American fired a 117 mph ace and then another at 124 mph to restore order.

"This is how Serena is playing. I had one break point, and I couldn't do nothing," said Kerber, who had defeated Williams for her first Grand Slam title at the Australian Open in January.

"I was trying to be tough, to stay in the match, trying to fight until the last point.

"But Serena was the one who won the match. I played my best, did what I could. At the end, she deserved it."

Williams finished on 39 winners and 13 aces which absorbed the 21 unforced errors she had committed.

She ended the tournament with 74 aces, more than twice as many as second-placed Elena Vesnina who managed a comparatively meagre 31.

Kerber hit just 12 winners on Saturday and was unable to fire one ace past her opponent.

"I think I played what I could today. Serena was serving unbelievable. I tried everything," said the 28-year-old, who had not lost a set at the tournament before Saturday.

She had also knocked out five-time champion Venus Williams in the semi-finals.

"She really played an unbelievable match. I think we both played on a really high level.

"I think I was not the one who lost the match, I think she won the match."

Kerber will move to number two in the world in the rankings next week behind Williams.

The American has been top of the pile since February 2013.

But Kerber acknowledges that she still feels a long way behind the great American in terms of achievement.

After all, Williams now has 71 career titles; Kerber has nine and has the best part of $70 million less in the bank.

"It's tough to follow in her footsteps. Let's see one day. But I think it's still a long way," she said.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

History calls as Serena and Kerber face off in final

LONDON - When Serena Williams and Angelique Kerber walk onto Wimbledon's Centre Court for the women's final on Saturday, the legacy of Steffi Graf will loom large.

The showdown will see world number one Williams try to equal Graf's professional era record of 22 grand slam singles titles, while Kerber will seek to become the first German woman to lift the Wimbledon singles crown since her idol Graf 20 years ago.

If Kerber prevails, completing a daunting double over the Williams sisters at the tournament, it could also signal a changing of the guard at the top the women's game.

It would be the second time this year she had beaten the American in a grand slam final, having triumphed at the Australian Open in January.

Kerber, 28, would also become the first woman apart from Williams to win two grand slams in a season since Justine Henin in 2007, when the Belgian player was world number one.

Williams, who turns 35 in September, is a six-times Wimbledon champion and the clear bookmakers' favourite. But the Graf milestone is nevertheless sure to be weighing on her mind.

She has flatly refused to discuss it at this year's championships, on one occasion testily telling reporters: "I'm not talking about that anymore. Sorry."

Kerber, free of such weight of expectation and history, has been happy to discuss her ambitions to emulate Graf.

"She was always an idol for me, I have watched a lot of her matches, on YouTube sometimes," she said after dispatching Williams' sister Venus in the last four. "I met her a few times -- the last time she told me, just believe in yourself.

"I will try to be the next one to win here after Steffi."

'SHE WILL NOT MISS'

Both players, who have never played each other on grass, have been in fine form at the tournament.

Defending champion Williams has dropped just one set on her way to the final, culminating in her 48-minute demolition of Elena Vesnina in the last four. Kerber has not dropped a set, and impressively outgunned Williams' sister Venus in the semis.

Williams leads left-handed Kerber 5-2 in matches since their first meeting nine years ago, and last season she won three of the four majors, including Wimbledon, only to stumble with a calendar-year Grand Slam in sight at the U.S. Open.

After Kerber denied her Graf's milestone at the Australian Open, Williams lost to Spain's Garbine Muguruza in the French Open final.

Her experience is almost unparalleled though: this is her 28th grand slam singles final, and ninth at Wimbledon, compared with her opponent's solitary major final appearance in Melbourne.

Whatever happens in Saturday's final, Williams will retain her number one ranking while Kerber will move onto her shoulder into second spot, from fourth.

If the match is anything like the 6-4 3-6 6-4 Australian Open encounter, the Centre Crowd is in for a nail-biting classic with both players stretching each other to their limits.

Kerber knows what she must do to thwart the champion's march on history once again.

"I have to be aggressive, go for it, try to win the match and not hope she will miss. She will not miss." (Reporting by Pravin Char; editing by Martyn Herman)

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

Serena battles rivals, self-doubt at Wimbledon

LONDON -- Serena Williams finds herself under siege from revitalized rivals and an army of doubters as the defending champion starts her bid for a seventh Wimbledon title and a record-equaling 22nd Grand Slam crown.

Since she walked off Wimbledon's Centre Court cradling the Venus Rosewater Dish awarded to the women's champion nearly 12 months ago, Williams has found herself engaged in a losing battle with the history books.

That Wimbledon final victory over Garbine Muguruza meant Williams had won all three of the year's major titles, putting her within touching distance of becoming the first woman to secure a calendar Grand Slam since Steffi Graf in 1988.

But Williams' historic bid came to stunning end in the US Open semi-finals when she was beaten by 300-1 outsider Roberta Vinci.

In the aftermath of that chastening September day in New York, Williams has appeared a more vulnerable figure.

For so long, Williams' power game and competitive instincts intimidated opponents into submission, but this year she has won only one of her five tournaments, in Rome in May, while enduring a pair of shock defeats in the Australian and French Open finals.

There is a growing sense the emotional scars from the US Open haven't fully healed for Williams and Germany's Angelique Kerber took advantage to shock her in Melbourne in January, while Spain's Muguruza avenged her Wimbledon loss by beating Serena in Paris earlier this month.

Falling at the final hurdle twice this year has left Williams still stuck on 21 Grand Slam titles -- one short of Graf's Open era record of 22 and three behind the all-time record of 24 set by Margaret Court -- ahead of Wimbledon, which gets underway on Monday.

- Twilight -

The 34-year-old is the oldest woman to be ranked number one in the world and, with off-court interests including the fashion industry and a recent appearance in a video for pop-star Beyonce's 'Lemonade' single, critics have claimed Serena is no longer so focused on her tennis in the twilight of her glittering career.

Given Williams compiled a remarkable 53–3 match record in 2015, even she had to admit 2016 has been a disappointment by her sky-high standards.

"Not as great as I want it to be," Williams said when asked to assess her year so far. "I could do better. But honestly, that's how I felt about 2015."

In the circumstances, Williams will be relieved to feel grass under her feet as she returns to the venue where she won the first of her six Wimbledon titles in 2002.

"I've had people put me down because I didn't look like them," Williams said in a recent documentary.

"I've had people look past me because of the color of my skin. I've had people overlook me because I was a woman. I'm still going."

With Maria Sharapova absent as she appeals against a two-year ban for doping, the main challengers for Serena's crown should be second ranked Muguruza, former Wimbledon finalist Agnieszka Radwanska and the likes of Kerber, Simona Halep and Victoria Azarenka, who defeated Williams in the Indian Wells final in March.

Muguruza, who last year became the first Spanish woman to reach the Wimbledon final since 1994, is the pick of the bunch after winning her maiden Grand Slam title in such composed and combative fashion at Roland Garros.

The Venezuela-born 22-year-old's first round exit in last week's Mallorca Open was a setback but she is now fully focused on Wimbledon.

"The truth is I'm disappointed, but now I'm just training harder to arrive ready for Wimbledon," Muguruza said.

"It feels like ages since I last stepped on grass, but it brings me great memories, even though it isn't a surface I've always liked.

"I've learned to love it more lately and then reaching the final at Wimbledon, that was something so special."

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com