Kerber can give Serena nightmares

IN the end, it doesn’t matter how hard you punch if you’re throwing them at a brick wall. And for that reason, Jelena Ostapenko is out of Wimbledon and Serena Williams might just sleep a little uneasily tonight. No one would want to face Angelique Kerber on current form and even Williams will have her doubts after seeing what the German can do to those who like to play on the front foot. That is not to equate Ostapenko too closely with Williams, but it is necessary to consider that the aggressive Latvian had not dropped a set in her run to the semi-final. She was relentless in going big on her shots and she was reasonably successful in hitting her targets, but when everything keeps coming back, as it usually does against Kerber, a mistake will eventually come. It was a death by a thousand returns and tomorrow’s final will be a fascinating meeting of puncher and counter-puncher, just as this match was. It would not be an outrageous bet to back Kerber to avenge her defeat by Williams in the 2016 final. She beat Ostapenko for the loss of just seven unforced errors and only one brief wobble at 5-1 up in the second set when she was broken. It was close to her best form from 2016, when she won two Slams and reached world No 1 before tumbling outside the top 20 in 2017. Kerber (right) said: ‘I’m really proud to be back in the Wimbledon final, especially after last year where things weren’t like I was expecting. ‘Serena is coming back as well. She is always pushing you to the limits to play your best tennis. ‘This is the only chance to beat her.’