Venus Williams loses Wimbledon semi-final 6-4, 6-4 to Angelique Kerber
Kerber produced commanding performance to reach first Wimbledon final
Kerber will now face Serena Williams in Wimbledon final on Saturday
Angelique Kerber is through to the Wimbledon final after Venus Williams’ stunning resurgence was brought to a sharp halt on Centre Court.
Williams had exceeded expectations by reaching her first Grand Slam semi-final for six years but fell painfully short in her bid to force an all-Williams final against her sister, Serena.
Instead, Kerber’s 6-4, 6-4 win means a repeat of this year’s Australian Open final, in which she beat Serena Williams to collect her first Slam title.
After sister Serena coasted to victory over Elena Vesnina in just 49 minutes, it fell to Venus to make it a fifth all-Williams family final at the All England Club.
Seeded fourth here, Kerber was favourite for her tie against the older Williams, but she was dramatically helped by the American along the way. The seven-time Slam winner simply crumbled, losing each of her first four service games.
Initially Williams was spared by Kerber’s own flakiness as the 28-year-old was also struggling to hold.
But Kerber pulled ahead 5-2 in the opening set and recovered from dropping her serve for a third time to serve out the set after 36 minutes.
Williams, the eighth seed, was broken again at the start of the second set – a fifth break in her six service games to that point – and never got back in the set, with Kerber improving as it went along.
For Williams, who made a disappointing 21 unforced errors to Kerber’s 11, it was an anti-climax to what had been a stunning fortnight.
Kerber, meanwhile, progresses to face the finest player of her generation. Serena Williams, at 34, is pursuing her 22nd Slam title, which would tie the Open-era record with Steffi Graf.
