Jan 29, 2016 | Angelique Kerber, Australian Open, Grand Slam, Serena Williams, WTA
After two weeks of exciting tennis action, 128 players have been whittled down to two as the best of the tournament prepare to face each other in the Women’s Singles Final of the Australian Open.Those two players are American world number one and defending champion Serena Williams and German seventh seed Angelique Kerber, who will be playing in her first ever Grand Slam Final. Here, we will take preview the Final and take a look at how these two great players made it through to the Championship match. Serena Williams came into this tournament nursing a knee injury that had forced her to retire from her first tournament of the season, The Hopman Cup, in the first week of January. The swelling had gone down by the time the first round of the first Grand Slam of the season rolled around but there were still serious concerns over her fitness. She put an end to any doubt quickly by performing brilliantly in her first match and has gone from strength to strength as the tournament has gone on. She comes into this Women’s Singles Final without dropping a set and looking pretty unbeatable as she looks to win her seventh Australian Open title. Her opponent, Angelique Kerber, had never been past the fourth round of this tournament before but has performed as good as ever to reach the Final on her ninth visit to Melbourne. Last year, she went out in the first round and after dropping the first set of her first round match this year, she was in danger of history repeating itself. She showed great mental...
Jan 27, 2016 | Australian Open, Grand Slam, Serena Williams, WTA
The excitement at the Australian Open is hotting up as we reach the Semi Final stage. The first in the Women’s Singles will see defending champion and top seed Serena Williams taking on Polish fourth seed Agnieszka Radwanska, whilst the second sees unseeded Australian born Brit Johanna Konta take on German seventh seed Angelique Kerber. Here is a look at the four women hoping to book a place in the Final. Serena Williams came into the tournament nursing injuries and with huge concerns over her fitness. Any fears she may have had will be completely gone now after dominating all five of her opponents to reach the last four without dropping a single set. The six-time champion will be most people’s tip to lift the title again, and looks like she is playing better with every match that passes. Agnieszka Radwanska will be playing in the Semi Finals for the second time in her career, after reaching the same stage in 2014. She has only dropped one set during the tournament so far, the first of her fourth round match, but has looked comfortable in the remainder of her matches. She easily brushed aside tenth seed Carla Suarez-Navarro in the Quarter Final and comes into the last four looking in great form. Johanna Konta beat Shuai Zhang in straight sets to become the first British woman to reach a Grand Slam Semi Final since Jo Durie in 1983. The 24-year-old, ranked 47th in the WTA, started the tournament with a straight sets win over eighth seed Venus Williams and has gone from strength to strength since then. She is...
