Serena eases into Australian Open final, to face Kerber

Number 1 ranked Serena Williams will be aiming for her 22nd tennis Grand Slam win, while seventh ranked Angelique Kerber is hoping to win her very first.

Williams threatened to embarrass her semi-final opponent Agnieszka Radwanska on Thursday, annihilating the Pole 6-0 in a first set that took just 20 minutes.

Defending mixed doubles champions Martina Hingis and Leander Paes are out of the Australian Open in the quarterfinals, beaten 7-6 (1), 6-3 by the top-seeded team of Sania Mirza of India and Croatia’s Ivan Dodig. The Belarusian was stunned as the German saved three set points in the second set to comeback and win the match. Kerber considers Graf an idol, and said she got a congratulatory text from her after her semifinal win. Kerber said Graf “is still in shape and she is hitting very hard and moving still like she was moving a few years ago”.

This was the 45th meeting between Djokovic and Federer, and the outcome now gives the 28-year-old Serbian an edge of 23-22. That’s pretty good for a 34-year-old! Kerber has served well when she needed it during the fortnight, especially on break points. “I think so. The Germans must be together”.

The American has not dropped a set in the tournament and has conceded just 17 games since her first-round win over Camila Giorgi where she was still finding her feat after her return from a long off-season was slowed by a knee injury.

“Novak right now is a reference for everybody”.

“I’m not even angry because I know she was just playing too good today”. Although she has finished in the top 10 for the last four years she has generally flown under the radar, though that is changing. “That was what was necessary against Roger, he’s been playing a high level here”.

In her last two matches, Williams has dispatched with the No. 5 and No. 4 seeds in the tournament who both pushed the champ for a single set but were brushed aside.

The chirping intensified as Williams served in the sixth game of the second set, and she looked up angrily after her off-balance forehand from the baseline that conceded her only service break of the match.

By 12:30pm, Serena was back in the press room for her pre-final press conference.

Williams is looking strong heading into the final, having never lost a semifinal or final at Melbourne Park.

Serena Williams, a four-time Olympic gold medalist, will go after her seventh Australian Open women’s championship Saturday in Melbourne, Australia. I just had this feeling before the tournament started that I was going to do really well there.

Konta stayed on the attack as her serve started to fire and she surged 4-3 in front. But this is the challenge I can take.

Serena’s shot at history: For Serena Williams, she has a shot to tie Steffi Graf at 22 majors. “She told me ‘Congrats, ‘ and that she is happy for me, and good luck in the finals”, Kerber revealed Friday.

After a day off yesterday, Serena was on first and she came out swinging against Agnieszka Radwanska, jumping out to a 7-0 lead before the World No. 4 got her teeth into the match. “I thought that would be a mistake”.

This year’s Australian Open women’s final finds the prohibitive favorite and a surprise finalist united by their connection to one of the sport’s all-time greats. She profited from 36 unforced errors off Konta’s racquet.