Kerber defeats Serena to win first Wimbledon title
LONDON (TNS) – The long road back to tennis relevance had an abrupt off-ramp Saturday for Serena Williams, who suffered a rare Wimbledon defeat.
Angelique Kerber made short work of the 23-time Grand Slam singles champion, beating her 6-3, 6-3 in a brisk 1 hour, 5 minutes – or more than four hours quicker than either of the men’s semifinals.
“She played unbelievably today,” said Williams, in her fourth tournament back after giving birth to her first child.
Kerber, the first German woman to win Wimbledon since Steffi Graf in 1996, has now won every major championship except the French Open and succeeded Saturday on what she was unable to do two years ago – defeat Williams in a final on these hallowed grounds.
“To be honest, I was quite nervous before the match,” said Kerber, 30. “But I was trying to (tell) myself, ‘Go out there and play your best match,’ because I know that against Serena I have to play my best tennis, especially in the important moments.”
She essentially played a pristine match, with only five unforced errors compared to 24 by Williams.
“I feel like I have a ways to go,” said Williams, 36, who was unable to extend her record as the oldest Grand Slam singles champion in the Open era. “This is literally just the beginning. It’s good to just continue that path and keep it going.”
Williams was both the betting and sentimental favorite, and had a host of celebrities pulling for her. Among them was Tiger Woods, who was sitting with her family and friends, and Meghan Markle, Duchess of Sussex, who was rooting for her from the royal box.
Even Kerber seemed to be a super-fan, as she was effusive in her praise of Williams after the match.
“Serena for me is a champion,” she said. “She is one of the best players in the world. That she came back after all this up and downs, after having a baby now, playing tennis like she’s playing now, that’s great.
“To share with her a court, it’s always an honor for me because I know she’s pushing me to the limits I have to play my best tennis.”
Childbirth was anything but routine for Williams, who had daughter Alexis Olympia in September. After undergoing an emergency C-section, Williams suffered a pulmonary embolism that led to various complications that slowed her recovery.
“I didn’t know a couple of months ago where I was, where I would be, how I would do, how I would be able to come back,” she said. “It was such a long way to see the light at the end of the road.
“So I think these two weeks have really showed me that, OK, I can compete. Obviously, I can compete for the long run in a Angelique Kerber, left, holds the winner’s trophy after defeating Serena Williams, 6-3, 6-3, in the women’s final on Saturday at Wimbledon Championships in London.
Tribune News Service
Grand Slam.”
On the men’s side, Novak Djokovic survived an exhausting marathon to beat Rafael Nadal in a five-set match that would leave even the fittest players rubber-legged. In a match between familiar foes that started Friday night but was called for curfew, Djokovic prevailed, 6-4, 3-6, 7-6 (9), 3-6, 10-8.
Djokovic, a three-time Wimbledon singles champion, will play for a fourth title today against Kevin Anderson, whose record-breaking, 6½-hour semifinal slog Friday suddenly doesn’t look so crippling.
Now, it’s two staggering survivors who must go from the cold of the ice bath to the heat of the spotlight.
“Kevin also had quite a few hours on the court in the last couple of matches,” said Djokovic, whose match lasted a total of five hours, 15 minutes over two days. “But he had a day off, which is quite, so to say, necessary at this stage. I wish I can have a day.”
Not that anyone is complaining. Anderson, who outlasted John Isner in the longest match ever played on Centre Court, is looking to win his first Grand Slam title. Djokovic, who had to pull out of Wimbledon last year with an elbow injury that eventually required surgery, is trying to reestablish himself as the best player in the game.
Djokovic is one of just two men – Roger Federer being the other – with at least 60 match wins in all four Grand Slam events, but he has gone from magnificent to mortal in recent years. In May, he dropped out of the top 20 for the first time in 11 years. He’s currently at 21.
Playing in his 22nd Grand Slam final, Djokovic is the lowest-ranked man to reach a Wimbledon final since No. 48 Mark Philippoussis finished runner-up in 2003.