Kerber defeats Serena for title
win Wimbledon since Steffi Graf in 1996.
“I know that against Serena, I have to play my best tennis, especially in the important moments,” said Kerber, who won the Australian Open and U.S. Open in 2016, but was the runner-up to Williams at Wimbledon that season, “especially in the important moments.” That’s just what she did. “Angelique played really well,” Williams said. “She played out of her mind.”
Kerber made only five unforced errors the entire match, 19 fewer than Williams. Perhaps more impressive was this — she broke Williams in 4 of 9 service games.
In doing so, Kerber prevented Williams from claiming an eighth title at Wimbledon and 24th from all Grand Slam tournaments, which would have equaled Margaret Court’s record. As things stand, Williams holds the mark for the half-century of professional tennis, one ahead of Kerber’s idol, Graf.
Williams gave birth only 10½ months ago, then was treated for blood clots. She wore special compression leggings as a precaution at Wimbledon, just the fourth tournament of her comeback.
After all the time away, Williams spoke about being impressed with herself for just reaching the final. She also wanted to win, of course.
“To all the moms out there, I was playing for you today — and I tried,” said the 36-year-old American, her voice shaking at the trophy ceremony.
Kerber addressed Williams during the on-court interviews, saying: “You’re such an inspiration for everybody, for all of us. I’m sure you will have your next Grand Slam title soon. I’m really, really sure.”
The final started more than two hours late, because they had to wait for the end of Novak Djokovic’s five-set victory over Rafael Nadal in a men’s semifinal that was suspended a night earlier. Sunday, Djokovic will play Kevin Anderson, who won his semifinal against John Isner, 26-24, in the fifth set Friday night.
Despite so much Grand Slam success, despite holding a 6-2 career edge against Kerber entering the day, Williams played tightly right from the outset.
Kerber celebrated match point by covering her face and collapsing flat on her back, getting grass stains on her white outfit. She relished the moment she had dreamt about as a little kid, watching Graf on TV.
After embracing Williams, she climbed into the stands to hug her coach and her family.
Later, Kerber sipped champagne and collected the round, purple badge given to a champion to signify membership in the All England Club.
She affixed the badge to her white T-shirt and laughed as she proudly played with it at the start of her news conference.
“Winning here, it’s forever,” Kerber said. “Nobody can take the title away from me now.”