Serena Williams v Angelique Kerber - Wimbledon final stats preview

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Mail
  • Pinterest
  • LinkedIn
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • WhatsApp
  • Pinterest
  • LinkedIn
  • Familiar foes: Serena Williams and Angelique Kerber.

    The last time Serena Williams took on Angelique Kerber in a Wimbledon final, Serena wasn’t married and hadn’t got pregnant yet, Kerber was a freshly-minted Grand Slam champion from her Australian Open triumph over the American six months earlier, Jay-Z and Beyonce flew in on a helicopter and were in Serena’s box, Ellen DeGeneres was sat next to Billie Jean King in the Royal Box, and Centre Court witnessed one of the best finals in recent memory.

    Serena matched Steffi Graf’s Open Era record of 22 Grand Slams that day by defeating a fourth-seeded Kerber 7-5, 6-3, then went on to break it when she lifted the Australian Open trophy in January 2017, while she was pregnant.

    Now facing off against Kerber for a third time in a Grand Slam final, Serena is bidding to match Margaret Court’s all-time record of 24 majors won.

    Kerber, the current world No. 10, is looking to add to her two Grand Slam titles, and prove that she is officially back following a difficult 2017.

    Both former world No. 1s have dropped one set each en route to the final and played brilliant semis to reach this point.

  • Serena Williams hopes her daughter doesn’t play tennis, John Isner wants Donald Trump to attend his match – Wimbledon diary

  • Here’s a numbers guide to Saturday’s blockbuster meeting.

    1 – Kerber is looking to become the first German woman to win Wimbledon since Graf in 1996.

    3 – For the third time in the Open Era, both women’s finalists are not seeded in the top-10.

    3 – Kerber is only the third player to face Serena in three or more major finals, alongside Venus Williams and Maria Sharapova. Venus is the only player to defeat Serena twice in a Slam final.

    4 – Grand Slam finals Kerber has now reached.

    4 – Serena is bidding to become just the fourth mother to win a Grand Slam in the Open Era.

    4 – This is just Serena’s fourth tournament back from maternity leave.

    4 – Kerber will rise to No. 4 in the world if she wins the title, and No. 7 if she loses the final.

    6 – Kerber is one of six German women to reach the Wimbledon final in the Open Era.

    7 – Wimbledon titles Serena has won so far in her career.

    12 – kilometres run by Kerber through her six matches at Wimbledon, compared to 6.3km run by Serena.

    12 – top-10 wins for Kerber this season. By contrast, she recorded just one top-20 victory in a sub-par 2017.

    18 – Serena is making her 18th main draw appearance at Wimbledon.

    23 – Slams won for Serena from 29 finals played. That’s a 79% winning rate in major finals. It’s the second-best winning percentage in the Open Era.

    24 – Serena’s bidding to match the all-time record of 24 Grand Slams won.

    28 – Serena will rise from 181 to 28 in the world by virtue of reaching the final, and would hit No. 19 if she wins the title.

    30 – This year’s final is the first between two thirty-somethings at Wimbledon since Virginia Wade defeated
    Betty Stove in 1977.

    36 – At 36 years 291 days, Serena would be the oldest Grand Slam singles champion in the Open Era, overtaking her own record set at 2017 Australian Open, if she defeats Kerber. Serena is the third-oldest Grand Slam finalist.

    43 – per cent of Serena’s serves have been unreturned this fortnight, compared to 24% for Kerber.

    44 – Serena has struck 44 aces this tournament.

    80 – the average ranking of Kerber’s opponents en route to the final.

    81 – the average ranking of Serena’s opponents en route to the final.

    84.8 – million dollars earned by Serena in career prize money prior to this Wimbledon.

    88 – Kerber has made a tournament-leading 88% of her service returns. She has won 47% of her return games.

    89.4 – Serena’s winning record on grass is 89.4% (101-12 win-loss), the highest among active players. Kerber’s is 71.8% (61-24), which is the sixth-best rate among active players.

    106 – Kerber’s fastest serve struck this fortnight is 106mph. That is Serena’s AVERAGE serve speed this tournament.

    325 – match wins for Serena at the Grand Slams, against 43 losses. That’s an 88.3% winning rate at the majors.

    Recommended