Agence France-Presse
London, July 8: Serena Williams has history in her sights as the defending champion plots to avenge one of the most painful defeats of her career by beating Angelique Kerber in the Wimbledon final here Saturday.
Serena suffered a stunning loss against Kerber in the Australian Open final in January and the rivals will face-off for the first time since then when they slug it out for the Wimbledon title. If Serena wins, she has the chance to equal Steffi Graf’s open era record of 22 Grand Slam titles. It will also mean that she will claim the Venus Rosewater Dish (women’s trophy) for the seventh time in her career.
Making history at Kerber’s expense would be especially sweet, even more so after the fourth seed defeated Serena’s sister Venus in the semifinals, and Serena stated that she has learnt the lessons of Australia.
“Obviously it’s significant that she beat me in Australia because that’s the last time we played,” Serena said here Thursday.
“I made a lot of errors. She made little to no unforced errors. I felt like she played great. She was fearless. That’s something I learned. When I go into a final, I, too, need to be fearless like she was.”
Since failing to complete a calender Grand Slam last year, Serena has repeatedly had her hunger for more success questioned. But, having reached a ninth Wimbledon final and 28th in Grand Slams, Serena insisted she is still motivated.
“Yeah, I have no hunger anymore. Yeah, right,” she challenged the media after her demolition of Elena Vesnina in the semifinals. “I mean, I think for anyone else reaching the final would be a wonderful accomplishment. For me, it’s not enough. But I think that’s what makes me different. That’s what makes me Serena.”
Asked where she ranked among the great female athletes, Serena took the chance to aim another barb at her detractors. “I prefer ‘one of the greatest athletes of all time’,” she said with not a trace of a smile.
Fortunately for fans hoping for a drama-filled final, Kerber isn’t the type to back down in the face of Serena’s aggression.
The 28-year-old, in her first Wimbledon final and second major title match, couldn’t be in better form as she tries to become the first German woman to win Wimbledon since her idol Steffi Graf in 1996.
“I told myself that I would like to play better in the big tournaments. I just believe much more in myself, especially after Australia,” Kerber told the media. “I’m a little bit more relaxed when I’m going to the tournaments. I know I can trust my tennis and beat anyone.”
