“Angie” did it! Angelique Kerber won the Wimbledon tournament on the holy lawn and made herself immortal. The eleventh seeded Kieler defeated Serena Williams 6-3, 6-3 in the final and prevented the 24th major title of the US-American who had entered the final as the favourite. Kerber is the first German Wimbledon winner since Steffi Graf 22 years ago. In 1996, the icon landed its last of a total of seven coups in the lawn mecca.
By Ulrike Weinrich from Wimbledon
After 1:05 hours Kerber turned her first match point and not only enjoyed her third Grand Slam title after the Australian Open and US Open 2016, but also Venus Rosewater Dish, presented by the Duke of Kent, and prize money of £2.25 million (equivalent to around €2.54 million).
“A dream has come true. I knew I had to play my best tennis today. It was an honor to share the pitch with such a great player as Serena. I enjoyed every second on the court,” said Kerbei, while her mother Beata cried tears of happiness up in the box.
Kerber took revenge for the lost Wimbledon final against Serena Williams in 2016 and achieved immortality in the Theater of Dreams.
The duel between the best service player and the best return player of this year’s tournament started with a two-hour delay because the men’s semi-final between Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal, which ended on Friday evening, still had to be played.
Serena Williams obviously had a hard time finding her way into the game. Her hard-hitting baseline strokes often missed their target in the beginning. Kerber, however, was present right from the start, well on foot – and drew a lot of self-confidence from a custom-made start. After forcing Williams into a long rally and landing a forehand of the 36-year-old in the net, her first break point came right away.
As a result, intensive rallies developed. Williams took more and more control. The 2:2 re-break didn’t come as a surprise at that point. But in front of 14,979 spectators on the sold-out Centre Court, Kerber made every effort to stay on her course: she tried to move Williams with changes of direction and thus to lure her out of her comfort zone.
In the ominous seventh game she took Williams off the service for the second time and had her first set point a little later on serve of the Americans. With her 14th Unforced Error to date, Williams, who played her fourth tournament after the birth of daughter Alexis Olympia, helped in this important phase. For comparison: “Angie” allowed himself only three unforced mistakes.
Little changed in the course of the game. Kerber was virtually flawless, but always put pressure when the opportunity arose. The 4-2 break was already the preliminary decision, because the left-hander looked totally cool in her fourth Grand Slam final and never deviated from her tactics.
Williams could have caught up with her 24th Grand Slam title to record holder Margaret Court (Australia). She would also have been the fourth mother to win a Grand Slam event in the Open Era since 1968. Previously, Margaret Court, Evonne Goolagong Cawley and Kim Clijsters had done it.
On her big day, Kerber had also set her sights on “business as usual”. From 11.00 a.m. to 12.00 noon she and coach Wim Fissette – as always in the last two weeks – took part in Court 14, the most remote of all training grounds. The Belgian repeatedly simulated Williams’ tough serves. Physio André Kreidler was also there as usual.
Serena Williams, who showed noticeable respect for Kerber, had even declared the German the easy favourite before the new duel. “Angie just plays so well, I have to be ready for the match of a lifetime. Lawn is their strongest surface, and it’s their second final here in the last three years, that’s very impressive. She’s also incredibly confident,” said the seven-time tournament winner, explaining, “Believe me, I know Angie wants to go out there and win. She knows very well how to play on the Centre Court.”
Serena Williams could count on royal support in the final, but in the end it didn’t help. Meghan Markle, the Duchess of Sussex and Prince Harry’s wife since May, first came to the southwest of London on Saturday during this year’s tournament to support her friend. “We’ve always been there for each other,” said the Florida power player. Meghan was accompanied by the Duchess of Cambridge, the wife of Prince Williams.
You must be logged in to post a comment Login