Angelique Kerber vs. Serena Williams: Wimbledon Women's Final 2018 – Live! | sport

Djokovic saves three break points for 8-7. Nadal saves a match point with an absolutely harmless drop drop to hold for 8-8. A ground shot on a match point . It was probably even Williams and Kerber clapping in the locker room. That could not be another 26-24. Could he …?

Do not take anything away from Nadal and Djokovic, however. It's exciting and I do not think there's a desire on the part of the crowd for it to end. Remember Billie Jean King does not look too impressed in the Royal Box. She's waiting for Williams and Kerber …

Ho hum . It's now 26 hours since the men's semifinals started at 1 pm yesterday …

Of course, Nadal and Djokovic were waiting in the locker room for an hour or six yesterday so I'm sure they can understand the situation in which Williams and Kerber find themselves this afternoon. Nadal serves at 7-6, the match just minutes away from becoming the second longest semifinal in the history of Wimbledon

Nadal just missed two break points that would have allowed him to serve for the match in the last set. Instead Djokovic holds for 5-4. You can follow the outcome with Will here.

Much has been said since last night about the rights and wrongs of sequencing . A final without a tee time is difficult for Williams and Kerber, who have worked so hard to get here. But because Djokovic and Nadal started at the Center, they have to finish there. Since one of them has to play again tomorrow, it was not really an option for them to come after women. And after the arrival of 23h last night, they would not have been able to resume before 13h. Perhaps what can be learned from this is that fifth-party tie-breaks must be considered by Wimbledon. If Anderson v Isner had been settled at this stage rather than at 26-24, we would not be in this mess today.

Ten months ago, Serena Williams suffered life-threatening complications after giving birth to her daughter, Olympia. Today, the 36-year-old athlete reaches an eighth Wimbledon title that would equal Margaret Court's record of 24 Grand Slam victories.

Only 10 months ago . It is worth repeating. Williams has made the habit of making it impossible during her career, so it may be easy to underestimate the difficulty of what she has accomplished in reaching the final.

The American was bedridden for six weeks after an emergency cesarean section last September. several procedures were needed after the formation of blood clots on his lungs. "It's not a secret that I've had a super difficult delivery," Williams said after his semifinal win Thursday. "I lost count after, like, four surgeries – it was just a routine every day." There was a time when I could barely walk up to my mailbox. People said, "Oh, she should be in the finals." For me, it's a pleasure and a joy because it's been less than a year since I was going through so many things. "[19659042] In her fourth return tournament, she appeared fit and focused with a fierce desire to win the title for her daughter, gaining momentum at every game and dropping only one inning. These are not baby steps that she takes, these are giant steps.

But Angelique Kerber is determined to be more than a footnote in the history of Williams at Wimbledon; the German has his own return to the cap. Kerber had a great year in 2016, winning the Open of Australia and the United States and finishing second at Wimbledon (she played Williams in both the Australia and Wimbledon finals). She climbed to No. 1 worldwide but seemed to consider her status as a millstone around the neck rather than a milestone. Weighed by expectation and attention, it collapsed last year, but is now close to its 2016 form. The 11th ^th seed is pbaded under the radar of Wimbledon because of all the shocks around her but she resisted everything that Jelena Ostapenko threw her in the semifinals and is determined to show that she is not a marvel of a season

The finale was supposed to begin at : 14h BST. He will start now each time Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal stop training in the second half of their semi-final.