Kerber separates Williams sisters
PARTY POOPER German ends Venus’ remarkable run for a rematch of Australian Open final with Serena
LONDON: Venus Williams’ deepest Grand Slam run in a half-dozen years ended one victory short of what would have been yet another Wimbledon title match against her sister Serena.
Unable to replicate the sort of turn-back-time performance that carried her to the semifinals at the All England Club, Venus was broken in her first four service games Thursday and lost to No. 4-seeded Angelique Kerber 6-4, 6-4.
The 36-year-old Venus was the oldest Slam semifinalist since Martina Navratilova was 37 at Wimbledon in 1994. Venus is a five-time champion at the grasscourt tournament, but she hadn’t made it this far since at Wimbledon since 2009, or at any major since the 2010 U.S. Open.
So now, instead of an all-Williams final on Saturday, it will be Kerber against No. 1 Serena in a rematch of the Australian Open final won by the German in January.
That was Kerber’s first Grand Slam title, and prevented Serena from collecting her record-equaling 22nd. Now Serena is once again so close to that number.
In control from start to finish in Thursday’s first semifinal, Serena needed all of 48 minutes to overwhelm Elena Vesnina 6-2, 6-0 in what felt like a training session.
Except Serena probably gets more of a workout when she practices. “You have to admit she was just better. She was stronger, faster,” Vesnina said. “I couldn’t do anything today.” GRAF’S FEAT Since winning her sixth Wimbledon trophy a year ago to raise her career count to 21 majors, Serena has come quite close to tying Steffi Graf with 22, the most in the Open era, which began in 1968 (Margaret Court holds the all-time mark of 24). But Serena was surprisingly beaten by Roberta Vinci in the U.S. Open semifinals last September, then by Kerber in Melbourne, and by Garbine Muguruza in the French Open final last month. “I mean, I think for anyone else in this whole planet, it would be a wonderful accomplishment,” Serena said about reaching her third Grand Slam final of the year. MURRAY, FEDERER EYE FINAL FACE-OFF Given that Roger Federer already owns seven Wimbledon championships, it really should not shock anyone that he made it back to the semifinals for the 11th time.
And yet, for various reasons, even Federer himself did not expect to still be in action at Centre Court on the grass-court tournament’s second Friday, facing Milos Raonic for a berth in the title match.
In Friday’s second semifinal, No. 2 Andy Murray will meet No. 10 Tomas Berdych. Murray lost to Federer in the 2012 final.