Angelique Kerber became the first German woman since legendary Steffi Graf (1996) to claim the pristine Wimbledon trophy after beating former world number one Serena Williams’ in straight sets by 6-3, 6-3 at the Centre court in London. Williams, who was playing her first final after the 2017 Australian Open failed to capture her record-equalling 24th Grand Slam title.
Kerber played cleanly as can be, covering the court so well and picking her spots for big shots in the summit clash in front of a capacity crowd present at the arena. It is the 30-year-old Kerber’s third Grand Slam title. She also beat Williams in the Australian Open final in 2016, then won that year’s U.S. Open.
Following in great footsteps 🇩🇪@AngeliqueKerber beats Serena Williams 6-3, 6-3 to become the first German to win a #Wimbledon singles title since Steffi Graf in 1996 🏆#TakeOnHistory pic.twitter.com/UwmpYbXZyR
— Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) July 14, 2018
Whereas, the 36-year old Williams is a seven-time Wimbledon champion and her 23 major trophies rank second all-time to Margaret Court. This final came just 10 months after the 36-year-old American gave birth to a daughter and dealt with a serious health scare. She was playing in the fourth tournament of her comeback.
“I think I’m the next one after Steffi who won — it’s amazing,” Kerber, 30, said after the match.
The 11th seed Kerber took one hour and five minutes to beat 25th-seed Williams and earn her third Grand Slam title. Kerber’s win is a reversal of her loss to Serena in the 2016 Wimbledon final, and denies the US star her 24th Grand Slam trophy and eighth Wimbledon title.
Serena had also been looking to become the fourth mother to win a Grand Slam title since the Open Era began, and would have been the first to do so at Wimbledon since Australia’s Evonne Goolagong Cawley did it 38 years ago. The American legend was also supported by her friend the Duchess of Sussex, Meghan Markle, who attended the match alongside the Duchess of Cambridge, Kate Middleton.
“I was really happy to get this far. For all the moms out there, I was playing for you today,” Serena said, 10 months after giving birth to her first daughter, Olympia.
(With Agency Inputs)
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