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WIMBLEDON, England – When Serena Williams retired from the French Open last month with a pectoral injury before her fourth round match with Maria Sharapova, Williams' coach Patrick Mouratoglou, did not waste time.
OK, "he says defiantly." She's going to win Wimbledon. "
A little over a month later, Williams is two-shot to do just that, two games away. to match Margaret Court 's record of 24 Grand Slam titles
about Williams' health, fitness, and state of mind when she arrived at the All England Club, but she scattered them in turn and served by big serve.
There were a lot of these in her 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 quarter-final win Tuesday on Camila Giorgi, a non-Italian sown with sufficient strength on its own
Giorgi, embracing the initiative and the risks, even managed to win the first set.While Williams was undoubtedly under duress, she did not never seemed overworked and drained the suspense out of the game by winning his last three games of love service.
"It's weird, perf I'm feeling, 'Man, I'm having trouble' "Williams said." For some reason, today I was so calm. Even when I was in the first set, I thought, "Well, she plays very well, I do a lot of good things, that's what it is." "
With a big goal in sight, Williams has already cracked up against an Italian veteran, losing to Roberta Vinci in the semifinals of the US Open 2015 while Williams was to two victories After completing the first Grand Slam in 27 years
The weight of this lawsuit has been too much to bear, but with Court's record becoming increasingly important at Wimbledon, Williams has so far been comfortable with the circumstances [19659010] is one of the most versatile of her long and rich career.It has not faced anyone in the top 50, and even though she will eventually face a semifinal ranked opponent in the US. German No. 13 Julia Görges, Görges has never been so deep in a Grand Slam singles tournament and lost in the first round to Wimbledon the previous five years.
Williams, 36, beat big Görges in the third round of Roland-Garros last month. But at the age of 29, Görges is finally in the last four in a rally after winning his quarter-final against another late veteran, Kiki Bertens, 3-6, 7-5, 6-1 [19659002] "For me, it's Görges said:
The other semifinal of Thursday will face the German Angelique Kerber, seeded No. 11, against Jelena, ranked 12th Ostapenko from Latvia
Kerber, 30, and Ostapenko, 21, have never faced each other, they come from different generations of tennis and have very different styles: Ostapenko is one of the best hitters Kerber is one of his first counter-strikers
.But both are former Grand Slam champions.Kerber won two majors in 2016 and also lost in the Wimbledon final at Williams this year.Oostapenko won the French Open last year swaying for the lines without a hint of self-doubt. Although she quickly went to bed when she defended her title in Paris this year, losing in the first round, Ostapenko played as if she had another point to prove at Wimbledon, scolding five opponents without losing a set.
She defeated Dominika Cibulkova, a Slovak who takes a lot of chances herself from the baseline, 7-5, 6-4.
Asked if Ostapenko could win the title, Cibulkova did not hesitate: "Of course she can, she did it before, she can do it again." is young, she plays without fear.These are advantages.On the grbad, I think that she plays even better than on clay.That could be.It may be her year. "
Ostapenko ended his match on the court 1 minute before Kerber closed his match against Daria Kasatkina on Central Court, the match of the day.
The score – 6-3, 7-5 – gave little indication of the levels of suspense and fun that Kerber and the 14th seeded Kasatkina combined to produce. The second set included almost all the plans of the book, including one that may not have been in the book up to now: a Kasatkina winner who jumped back, but Kasatkina, a Russian 21-year-old who has an escape season, has so many tennis tools. The Central Court crowd, some of whom had never seen him play, expressed his appreciation several times by staging his collection of spins and rhythm changes
This was audacious, often brilliant, but the smaller set of Kerber tools eventually proved to be more reliable. She was quicker and more consistent, but also daring – hitting her right-handed forehand on the pressure line and finding a way to produce her trademark depth even in extremely defensive positions.
More importantly, she showed a remarkable determination to close the game by holding service and nerve in the final set after Kasatkina had saved the first six match points in a memorable 12th game.
C & # 39 was the first appearance of Kasatkina on the central court. It is unlikely that she is the last, and with her skills and sense of improvisation, it was quite possible to imagine one day brandishing the Venus Rosewater Dish that goes to the champion single women.
For now and who knows? longer, Williams is the woman who has the tightest on this trophy. She has won seven times and won 19 straight singles matches at the All England Club, winning the title in 2015 and 2016 before skipping last year's tournament because she was pregnant seven months.
She gave birth to her daughter Olympia in September by caesarean section and then post-delivery complications that required further surgery. It was a tough road back to the end of a big company because Williams struggled with his weight and his new priorities. But it was also a remarkably fast trip since Olympia, which has recently started to take its first steps, has only 10 and a half months.
This is Williams' fourth tour since returning to the circuit in March, and C & # 39; s is his first race after the third round. But Wimbledon, where points are shorter and his formidable service is often the most effective, has long seemed to be the best place to really judge the state of his game.
"I think I would have was shocked if she came back and won her first tournament, "said Kamau Murray, who coaches Sloane Stephens. "The game being so physical, I do not think it can happen, but I think it's about the time and the number of matches that someone would need to get back into the rhythm."
Yet this comeback, The last of them in its long and eventful run under the spotlight, is undoubtedly a new experience from Williams' point of view.
"Because I have the baby," she said Tuesday. "Being a mom is totally different, I always have to think," Wow, I'm a mom. "Every day it's different for me."
She quickly recovered from her muscular tension in Paris, partly caused by the search for extra power during her service, but she adjusted her move to Wimbledon to include more trunk rotation, and against Giorgi she hit her fastest serve of the tournament: 122 miles per hour More critical, she lost only 14 points in service.
Mouratoglou was surely delighted, although he could not confirm that on Tuesday because he agreed with Williams not to to speak publicly about her during this tournament, and did not mince words in Paris, criticizing her decision to play in doubles and singles as this made her vulnerable to injury and complained that she had left out of the loop.
Mouratoglou refused to explain details
"I made this commitment not to speak," he said after Tuesday's victory. "For her, winning Wimbledon is much more important than my freedom of expression."
For those who know Mouratoglou, it's all a change, but it's already in the record to know who will win the Wimbledon title this year. Two more wins, and Williams will prove him right.
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