Power Take: Serena on track to be best female athlete ever

Seventh-seeded Angelique Kerber has ended the strong run of Johanna Konta at Melbourne Park, beating the British player 7-5, 6-2 in the semifinals.Kerber, who has advanced to her first Grand Slam singles final, broke Konta’s serve to open the second set and again in the fifth game to take a 4-1 lead.

Scarily dominant in this year’s tournament, Williams is the overwhelming favourite to win her seventh Australian Open title and collect her 22nd Grand Slam trophy, tying the record of Kerber’s compatriot Steffi Graf.

Kerber has beaten her once before, but that was back in 2012, and Serena’s won their last four matches without dropping a set.

“I think if you asked a lot of the public if they knew who Jo Konta was before this week then not many people would have said they did”. “But I think against Roger, these first two sets have been probably the best two sets I’ve played against him overall throughout my career”. I just remember her serving really well, her moving well, her being determined to win that. Despite facing Maria Sharapova and Agnieszka Radwanska in her quarterfinal and semifinal matches respectively, the world number one has showed complete dominance in her part of the draw.

“I thought she played unbelievable in that match. I must play my best tennis to have a chance against her. I will try to play the final and hopefully play good”.

“I think it [my nerves] will be for sure better, you know, because I have nothing to lose against Serena, of course”, Kerber said. “If I don’t win on Saturday, I’ll still be one off”, Williams said.

“I have actually nothing to lose”.

Kerber, who received a text message of support from Graf ahead of today’s final, said she had to be ready to step up to the plate against the best player in the world. “But for now, I’d rather have this than something else because it means I’m doing well”.

Kerber, who saved a match point in her first round clash with Japan’s Misaki Doi, will enter her first major final with huge confidence, believing a “nothing to lose” attitude had got her this far. She hurried through the first set against Radwanska in 20 minutes, winning all but seven points and allowing Radwanska just one victor while smacking 18 of her own. I think she will have respect.

“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”.

On the current rankings, Europe has nine of the top 10 players – with Kei Nishikori of Japan breaking it up at No. 7. “I just watch TV”, she said, admitting that her public profile sometimes deterred her from venturing out. “I feel lonely without my partner”, Hingis said. ‘It hasn’t been routine because every match for me is hard, and every match is not easy, ‘ Serena said.

Angelique Kerber has big ambitions to be more than another piece of roadkill on Serena Williams’ seemingly inevitable journey to sporting immortality. She was struggling in her opening round in Brisbane, she faced match points in her first round match here, and somehow has weathered those storms to become the first German woman since Sabine Lisicki (Wimbledon, 2013) to reach a Grand Slam final.

“I had a lot of challenges here also in this tournament where I was really nervous”.