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Serena Williams in the first round of Wimbledon 2018
Serena Williams in the first round of Wimbledon 2018 | Jimmie48 Tennis Photoraphy

Wimbledon 2018 | Serena: Margaret Court record is ‘just a number’ as she is a match away from equalling it

Ros Satar
Tennis

By Ros Satar, at Wimbledon

  • Serena Williams [25] def. Julia Goerges [13]
  • Williams bids to equal Margaret Court’s record of 24 Slam titles
  • Faces Angelique Kerber in the final once more – having beaten her the last time she won here in 2016
WIMBLEDON, UK – Serena Williams downed Julia Goerges to set up a repeat of the 2016 Wimbledon final with Angelique Kerber.

 

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Seven-time champion Serena Williams stands on the edge of history after downing Julia Goerges to face Angelique Kerber once more in the Wimbledon final.

If we thought it was going to be a pushover for Williams, as she threatened to break in Goerges’ first service game, we were mistaken as the German stayed toe-to-toe with the seven-time Wimbledon champion.

Goerges made Williams work for the first break but once Williams got in front, she backed it up with a break for the first set. Williams would go on to break in precisely the same game in the second set. With clear water between them, Williams just seemed to lift up a gear, powering through to consolidate the break. This time though, Goerges was not ready to capitulate, holding and forcing Williams to come out and serve for the match.

There was to be a slight plot twist –

Goerges had three break points in the bag, with Williams saving two of them before Goerges gave herself a chance at staying in the match with a break, only for Williams to break for the match, and a shot at facing Angelique Kerber once more for the title.

Julia Goerges in the first round of Wimbledon2018
Julia Goerges in the first round of Wimbledon 2018 | Jimmie48 Tennis Photography

Goerges has yet to take a set off Williams now in four attempts, but her flurry of resistance perhaps signifies that she is not that far out.

Williams said: “I thought she played really well. I had to bring my A game. I’ve never seen her play this well, and I’ve seen her play a lot. I really like watching her play. I feel like all the hard work she’s been doing, being consistent for the past, you know, 14 months or more, it really showed today. I feel like she really brought it. Like I said, I always play people at their greatest, you know. Always have to lift myself.”

In recent years the focus has been on Kerber especially following her Slam runs in 2016, which saw her beat Williams at the Australian Open, before losing to her in the Wimbledon final.

Williams said, of Kerber: “I feel like she’s been playing really well. A lot of people haven’t been, I don’t think in beginning of the tournament, looking at her. I think grass is her best surface. She plays so well here. She knows how to play on this court. She does it well.

“It’s her second [Wimbledon] final in three years, is that right? That’s wildly impressive. Believe me, I know she wants to go out there and win. So do I. I think it will be just like the last final, it will be a really good final. Hopefully it will be a good result.”

But what of the opportunity to equal Court’s record?

Williams said: “To be perfectly honest, I haven’t thought about that this tournament. Not even once actually. I think that’s a good thing because, you know, 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.”

The Ladies final will take place on Saturday.

 

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