Steffi Graf’s presence looms large at Australian Open final

Serena Williams gave another reminder of her dominance in women’s tennis with a 6-0, 6-4 win in the Australian Open semifinals against Agnieszka Radwanska, who is soon to move to the No. 3 ranking.

MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA – It all comes down to this as Serena Williams will face Angelique Kerber in Saturday’s final as she bids to equal Steffi Graf’s Slam record of 22 titles.

But do not fret, the German seventh seed made sure not to expose her tactics while the 21-time grand slam victor was in close proximity.

Around the time of Indian Wells, Kerber took a trip to Las Vegas, where Graf lives with her husband, four-time Australian Open champion Andre Agassi. The pair had already clashed earlier this month in the Brisbane International final and Azarenka was successful as she entered the first Grand Slam of the year as a firm favourite to test Williams for the title.

Sharapova said it was “always frustrating” to lose to Williams but insisted that the losses also helped motivate her to try again, reported the Independent UK.

In the first semifinal match, Kerber ended Sydney-born British player Johanna Konta’s surprising run with a 7-5, 6-2 win to reach her first Grand Slam final.

While both players said they had nothing to lose, Williams was under more pressure, Kerber said.

“I would say this is probably the best slam I’ve played in a year, and I’ve won a lot in a year”.

“But this is the challenge I can take”.

All of their meetings have been in hard court surfaces, with Kerber’s lone win coming from their 2012 Cincinnati Masters quarterfinal meeting.

Williams did not play another short after losing to Roberta Vinci in the US Open semi-finals, and did not look altogether convincing as a title prospect either at the end of a year ago with the International Premier Tennis League (IPTL) or at the Hopman Cup.

Indeed, she will need to play to her limits if she is to match it with the in-form Williams. I will go out there, try to enjoy my first final, try to beat Serena, of course, as well.

“Physically I’m feeling a lot better, mentally I needed that break after the Open”, Williams said, but “I didn’t think I would do this well this fast”. “I just remember her serving really well, her moving well, her being determined to win that”. Graf wished Kerber good luck in a message.

“I saw it yesterday against [Radwanska]”. “Each time I come back… and step on Rod Laver Arena I have this lovely memory”.

“Yeah, I think right now I have the confidence, to be a top-five player and feel it. I think I’ve grown in the last few years to be a top-10 player”.

“I felt like I really committed myself…it’s just a great thing to be in the final after taking such a long time off”.

Prediction: Williams to win in three sets.

“That was the change also for my mentality and my nerves, what I have actually before every match”.

But Williams is trying not to think too much about matching Graf’s 22 career titles. The German is a similarly sturdy, defensive-minded retriever with a knack for making her opponents make mistakes, and she hits the same crouching groundstrokes that allow her to hold the baseline and dig out deep balls.

Last year, she got to hit with Graf.