Williams and Kerber pose for pictures after the Australian Open final in Melbourne
After failing in New York, Melbourne and Paris, Serena Williams will walk into the center court at Church road in South West London this afternoon, for her match against Germany’s Angelique Kerber, aiming to capture her 22nd grand slam title and finally equal Steffi Graf`s record of 22 titles in the Open era.
Conversely, Kerber will be seeking to become the first German woman, since her idol Graf 20 years ago, to win the Wimbledon singles trophy.
Kerber, 28, playing in her second grand slam final, defeated Williams 6-4 3-6 6-4 at the Australian Open in January. If she beats Williams again, she will become the first woman, apart from Williams, to win two Grand Slams in a season since Belgium’s Justine Henin in 2007.
Williams, who will be 35 in September, six-times Wimbledon champion and with 21 grand slam trophies in her collection, will start the match as the clear favourite due to her experiece plus the fact that she is in blistering form – having won three sets to love so far and needing only 48 minutes in the semifinal against Elena Vesnina to reach the final.
However, the problem she will have, like in those three previous occassions, will be dealing with the enormous pressure of her bid to reach the Graf milestone. In Flushing Meadows last year, we all saw how badly the pressure weighed her down against Roberto Vinci – a player she had always dominated. The same goes for her match against Kerber in Melbourne.
Williams has refused to discuss the record chase at this year’s Wimbledon. Once she told reporters: “I’m not talking about that anymore. Sorry.” Nevertheless, she has not hidden the fact that the world No.1 ranking was important to her.
“It is significant to me,” Williams said. “No one wants to give it up when they have it. Obviously I have a lot of tough competition. But at the same time, I am going to have to work really hard, be really determined, especially with this summer coming up, to hold on to it.”
Unlike Williams, Kerber, free from weighty expectations, discusses her ambitions to follow the footsteps of Graf.
“She was always an idol for me, I have watched a lot of her matches, on YouTube sometimes,” she said after dispatching Williams’ sister Venus in the last four. “I met her a few times – the last time she told me, just believe in yourself.
“I will try to be the next one to win here after Steffi.”
This will be the first time both players will play on grass court
Williams leads Kerber 5-2 in matches since their first meeting nine years ago. Last season Williams won three of the four majors, including Wimbledon, only to fail in achieving a calendar-year Grand Slam in front of home crowd at the US Open.
Can Kerber again deny Williams from equalling the record of her idol, Graf? It is unlikely if the form of the latter is a yardstick. Though Kerber has been playing solid too.
In any case, no matter the outcome of Saturday’s final, Williams will retain her number one ranking while Kerber will move onto the second spot, from fourth.
The encounter, which starts 15.Hours (CET) promises to be a classic.
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