Serena Williams is still Serena Williams. The American showed she’s far from done, as she reached the Finals in Wimbledon to keep her hopes alive of winning her eighth title there. Standing in her way is Angelique Kerber, whom Williams beat in the Finals in 2016. Will Williams get her eighth Wimby title this year? Or will Kerber avenge her past loss and win her first Wimbledon title?
Kerber is back in the Wimbledon finals two years after losing to Serena Williams in the same round in the same tournament. This time around, Kerber is obviously hoping for a different result, especially coming after a sensational win over Jelena Ostapenko in the semifinals to the tune of a 6-3, 6-3 score. Kerber has steadied his ship following shaky performances in the first two rounds in which she recorded more unforced errors than winners. She will now head to the finals with an impressive +30 plus/minus differential in winners to miscues. Against Ostapenko in the Finals, Kerber was also fantastic with his service, putting in 77 percent of her serves in while scoring on 61 percent of them. Thus far in the tournament, she has put 68 percent of her first serves in play, plus she has also won 92 second serve return points, second most in the tournament as of this writing.
Betting on Serena Williams (-225)
It wasn’t long ago when people are starting to doubt whether they are seeing the beginning of the end of Williams, as she hasn’t performed as well as she used to be following her giving berth. It turns out she only needed some time to dust of the cobwebs and shed the rust, as she is now back dominating the game once again. In the semis, Williams made quick work of Julia Goerges in a 6-2. 6-4 win. Considering that she was in a tiresome quarterfinals match in the quarters, it was not much expected for Williams to play like she did, but she’s not the “G.O.A.T.” for nothing. While it was mentioned earlier that Kerber’s service and return game have been solid so far, Williams’ own service might be too much for the German. Against Goerges, Williams won 87 percent of her first serve points. Williams has won this tournament seven times before, including in 2016 when she beat Kerber, so even the psychological advantage is on her side.
Writer’s Prediction
Williams wins another Grand Slam title, as she defeats Kerber in the finals in two sets and cements her status as the greatest women’s tennis player of all time. #nodebate
