In 2016 Angelique Kerber had been without a chance in her first Wimbledon final against Serena Williams. Now the woman from Kiel turned the tables – and was the first German to win the title on Church Road 22 years after Steffi Graf.
By Jörg Allmeroth from Wimbledon
We will have to remember this day in the future, 14 July 2018, the day on which the long German title drought ended on the famous Church Road. The day Angelique Kerber followed in Steffi Graf’s footsteps in the green tennis paradise of Wimbledon: 22 years after the last triumph of the over-woman of German sports, Kerber stormed to a 6-3, 6-3 victory against Serena Williams and to the throne in the All England Club.
There was a royal visit on this final Saturday, with Duchess Kate and Duchess Meghan sitting in the VIP box, but the Queen on the Centre Court was none other than the reinvigorated, sovereign and self-confident winner Kerber. It was the mother of all Kerber victories – against the new tennis mother Serena.
“It’s a dream come true, the greatest dream ever. I have always worked towards this victory,” Kerber said in the winning interview. “I knew I had to play my best tennis. And I’ve done that.”
Exactly at 6.22 p.m. German time Kerber sank to the floor of the Centre Court, dissolved in tears, almost a little unbelieving, what had happened exactly at that moment – namely the blow to immortality, as the first German Grand Slam winner in Wimbledon this century.
Williams also rushed over, embraced and hugged the deserved winner, who two years after the last match here on the Wimbledon turf had now turned fate and defeated the best player of that epoch. And then there was no stopping Kerber, running up the stairs to her box, squeezing coach Wim Fissette and mother Beata.
It was the unique culmination of her difficult, not always straightforward career in professional tennis – the culmination of a career that almost ended seven years ago in Wimbledon, after a first-round defeat to Laura Robson.
Five minutes after the match ball, Kerber then stretched the Venus Rosewater trophy into the blue sky above the Centre Court, from the hands of the club’s president, the Duke of Kent, who had received the silverware. And finally Kerber had the place all to himself, it was a symbolic moment within the ceremonies: Williams stepped down in a flurry of flashes from the photographers, and then Kerber posed solo with the World Tennis Grand Prix, the Wimbledon Winner’s Cup. And then took the bowl for another lovingly walk, in a lap of honour around the Centre Court. Kissed her, it looked like she never wanted to give the present back.
Kerber and Williams had to wait for a long time on Wimbledon’s mythical main square this Saturday, and the rivals were stuck in the waiting loop for almost two hours – due to the extension of the men’s semi-final. But just as Kerber had seemed nervy, cool and extremely concentrated in this whole tournament, so little did she mind this tingly situation.
The Kieler sprinted from a standing start to a 2-0 lead, had to accept the 2-2 equaliser again, but from the middle of the first set she finally took control of the match. Breaks to 4:3 and 6:3 made the 1-0 set lead perfect after 31 minutes. Kerber cleverly realized that she didn’t have to take too much of a risk against the fickle American, but only had to place the balls in the field cleanly and without mistakes.
Williams was already responsible for the mistakes, 14 slight mistakes alone she made in this opening round.
After months of hard construction and comeback work, in which the focus had always been on Wimbledon as a place to conquer, this last stage up to the Grand Slam eight-thousand-metre peak was almost unspectacular. In the second movement, too. Also, when the screams and emotional outbursts of Williams, the seven-time championess, became more and more intense. Kerber held against it, with a striking solidity. With the coolness and self-confidence she had brought to this last duel over the last two weeks of the tournament.
Kerber took the lead again in the middle of the set and did not let go of his lead, especially because Williams was repeatedly slowed down by himself during her chase to catch up – with too many mistakes, which, of course, were not surprising for the young mother even at the end of a strenuous tournament. After all, Wimbledon was only the fourth tournament of the 36-year-olds after pregnancy and baby break.
“I hope Angie can and will enjoy this moment. There’s nothing better than winning Wimbledon,” Williams said later, “she deserves this victory. She’s a fantastic player.”
Only 20 minutes after the triumph came another moving moment for the German winner. And that was when she marched into the magnificent entrance hall together with Philip Brooke, the operating director of the All England Club. There, where also the plaque of the winners stands.
Kerber and Brooke looked at the Gallery of Sizes, often with the name Graf. But that night, that minute, the name of the Wimbledon Queen of 2018 was already printed – Angelique Kerber. “It’s madness. I can hardly believe it,” Kerber said to the Wimbledon boss. And then he was celebrated on the balcony in front of thousands of fans.