Serena Williams moved to within a victory of her 22nd Grand Slam singles title after destroying Agnieszka Radwanska in straight sets in the Australian Open semifinals on Thursday. Pulling off that feat won’t be easy, though, as standing in her way in the final is the in-form Angelique Kerber who’s coming off a thrilling victory over Johanna Konta.
Who will emerge victorious in this blockbuster showdown? Read on below for an in-depth breakdown of this much-anticipated women’s final. While you’re at it, you can check out the men’s side of the draw with our preview of the semifinal match between Andy Murray and Milos Raonic.
There’s just no stopping Serena Williams right now.
The world no. 1 extended her winning streak in the Australian Open to 13 matches with a comprehensive 6-0, 6-4 victory over Agnieszka Radwanska in the semifinals on Thursday. It was an emphatic performance from the American who has yet to drop a set in this year’s tournament.
Key to Williams’ dominant showing in the semis was her excellent serve. Serena won 23 of her 26 first-serve points against Sharapova for an incredible 88 percent clip. Radwanska, on the other hand, was only 15-of-28 on her first serve points. Williams also served eight aces and just one double fault for a solid plus-7 margin while Radwanska didn’t record a single ace and hit a whopping three double faults (minus-3) in that semifinal match.
With the victory, Williams improved to 26-4 in Grand Slam semis matches. Up next for Williams is a final clash with Angelique Kerber. The 34-year-old has fared extremely well in her past meetings with Kerber, with Williams winning five of their six previous matches. This will be the first meeting, though, between the two tennis stars here in the Australian Open.
For Williams to defeat Kerber this coming Saturday, she will need to continue her excellent return play. She won 56 percent of her receiving points against Radwanska with Williams converting five of her six break point opportunities. Williams also needs to impose her aggressive style and dictate the tempo of the match against Kerber. She did just that against Radwanska in the previous round, hitting an incredible 42 winners.
Angelique Kerber reached her first ever Grand Slam final with a nerve-wracking 7-5, 6-2 victory over unseeded Johanna Konta on Thursday. It was a terrific performance from Kerber who will be aiming to become the first German woman to win the Australian Open crown since the great Steffi Graf did it back in 1994.
Achieving that dream will be a tough task, though, for Kerber as standing in her way in the final is six-time Australian Open champion Serena Williams. The American has an incredible 21-4 record in Grand Slam final matches. That being said, Kerber will fancy her chances of recording a massive upset as she has already beaten Serena in a WTA Tour event once before. Kerber shocked Williams in the quarterfinals of the Cincinnati Open back in 2012, beating her in straight sets, 6-4, 6-4.
For Kerber to pull off the shock result this coming weekend, she will need to improve on her first-serve percentage. She put into play just 54 percent of her first serves against Konta with Kerber winning just 64 percent of those points. That simply won’t do against a world-class player like Williams who’s playing some of the best tennis of her life right now. The one thing going for Kerber, though, heading into the final is her highly-efficient play. She committed just 11 unforced errors in her straight-sets win against Konta.
Kerber is 8-2 in her last 10 matches.
Writer’s Prediction
Williams (-750) beats Kerber in straight sets to capture her seventh Australian Open title.
