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By the Numbers | How Kerber & Williams match up ahead of the Wimbledon 2018 final

Ros Satar
Tennis

By Ros Satar, at Wimbledon

  • We crunch the numbers between Angelique Kerber and Serena Williams as they bid to win the Wimbledon Ladies’ singles title
WIMBLEDON, UK  – Can Angelique Kerber finally lay claim to a Wimbledon title or will Serena Williams win an eighth title and finally equal Margaret Court’s Grand Slam title record?

 

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Head to Head

Angelique Kerber [11] Serena Williams [25]
2 6

 

Serena Williams owns their head to head but it is worth noting she has always beaten Angelique Kerber in straight sets. Kerber’s win over Williams at the Australian Open came with Kerber taking the initiative to lead in the first set. While the head to head is very much in Williams favour, Kerber would well repeat the Australian Open feat here.

Advantage: Williams

 

Titles History

  Kerber Williams
Titles (2018) 11 (1) 72 (0)
Slams 2 23

 

Williams’ record speaks for itself, and she is standing on the edge of history – she is one win away from equalling Margaret Court’s record of 24 Grand Slam singles titles, and she has already hinted that she feels it is just a number and she wants to get more than that. Kerber has done well to reach her fourth Slam final in two years, on the edge herself of being the first German to lift the title since Steffi Graf, and a chance to have won Grand Slam titles from three different slams.

Advantage: Williams

 

Year to Date/Career W/L Record

  Kerber Williams
All surfaces W/L 38-12 / 391-218 11-2 / 785-128
Grass-court 9-2 / 61-24 6-0 / 101-12

 

Unsurprisingly Kerber has looked to get more of the grass under her feet with playing a shortlive round in Mallorca and a better run in Eastbourne. In fact playing a little more in this country might stand her in good stead.

Advantage: Kerber

 

Match Stats 2018

  Kerber Williams
Tie-Breaks 8-5 3-0
Deciding sets 9-5 2-0

 

Tie-breaks

Williams has been the most effective in tie-breaks and deciding sets, losing none, but it has to be remembered she is only four tournaments into the year.

Deciding Sets

Kerber might have played more, but has looked to be more in control in the final sets

Deuce

 

Tournament

Serve/Return

While Williams has been more effective in her first serve, there is nothing to split them in their second serves, and if anything Kerber’s returning points won has been a little more effective. Against the Williams serve that might be a factor.

Deuce

 

What they had to say

Kerber is under no illusions that she will have to play the kind of lights out tennis she displayed in Melbourne two years ago if she wants to be holding the trophy on Saturday. While she has a healthy respect for Williams (and indeed vice versa), there is no doubt that the work she has put in to banish the memories of 2017 will need to pay off.

Kerber said: “I see a champion, that’s for sure. I mean, Serena is one of the best players in the world. I mean, we had so many great matches in the last years. To seeing her back, it’s great. Yeah, I know that she is always pushing you to the limits to play your best tennis. This is the only chance to beat her.

“She’s coming back. For me also, I’m coming back from 2017. I think, yeah, it will be a new match. I know that I have to play my best, best tennis to beat her, especially on the grass, on the Centre Court, where she won so many titles here.”

Williams has done her best to banish all thoughts of Court’s record from her mind, and many have wondered whether she would ever come back and have the motivation to target that after the birth of her daughter. We need not have worried!

She said: “I put so much pressure on myself when I was trying to get to 18, then the rest, it was so much. But as I said in the past couple years, I don’t want to limit myself. I think that’s what I was doing in the past, I was limiting myself.

“It’s just a number. I want to get as many as I can, starting with — I still have a match to win, so I’m not even there yet.”

Who will win the Wimbledon 2018 Ladies’ Singles Title?

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The Wimbledon Ladies’ singles final will be played on Saturday at 2pm (BST).

 

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