The Star Malaysia

A show of superiorit­y

Kerber storms into second final as Ostapenko misfires

-

LONDON: Angelique Kerber raced into her second Wimbledon final as the German crushed former French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko 6-3, 6-3 in just 67 minutes.

Kerber took the express route to her fourth Grand Slam title match with a “blink and you miss it” demolition of Ostapenko on Centre Court.

The 30-year-old hit only 10 winners but that was all it took to get the job done as Ostapenko shot herself in the foot with 36 unforced errors.

“I was just trying to move good and take my chances.

“I’m so excited,” Kerber said. “It’s such a

great feeling to be back in the final. “Playing on Centre Court is always great.” Referencin­g her dismal form last year, Kerber added: “2017 is over and I’m really happy about that. We are in 2018!

“I’m really happy and proud to be in a Grand Slam final.

“These are the matches I was working for since I was a kid.”

Kerber was beaten by Serena Williams in the 2016 Wimbledon showpiece.

It will be world No. 10 Kerber’s first Grand Slam final since she won the second of her two major titles at the 2016 US Open. Kerber is bidding to become the first German woman to win Wimbledon since Steffi Graf won it in 1996.

After winning the Australian and US Open titles and reaching the Wimbledon final two years ago, Kerber endured a significan­t slump in 2017.

But the former world No. 1 has been reinvigora­ted over the last few months.

 ?? — AP ?? Back to you: Angelique Kerber returning a shot to Jelena Ostapenko during the women’s singles semi-finals yesterday.
— AP Back to you: Angelique Kerber returning a shot to Jelena Ostapenko during the women’s singles semi-finals yesterday.

Newspapers in English

Newspapers from Malaysia