Angelique Kerber has snatched her very first Wimbledon title on July 14, after beating Serena Williams in the women’s final 6-3, 6-3 in 65 minutes, reports CNN .
Today’s triumph is the third grand slam win for Kerber against Williams and marks a glorious comeback for the 30-year-old, who had a poor 2017 and failed to impress in this tournament up until the final.
Entering the London competition as an 11th seed, she has now become the first German tennis player to win at Wimbledon in two decades, since Steffi Graf’s victory in 1996.
To Kerber, winning the first Wimbledon title in her career is a “dream come true.”
“I knew I had to play my best against a champion like Serena, it is always an honor to share a court with her,” the German champion was quoted on the court.
“This is just amazing. I cannot describe this feeling because when I was a kid I was always dreaming for this moment. To win Wimbledon, it’s something really special,” she said in a statement, according to The Guardian , while also recalling memories of her hero, Graf, winning Wimbledon when Kerber was still a child.
Kerber has seized two other grand slam wins against Williams in 2016, in the Australian and U.S. Open. This latest resounding success comes after a semifinal showing in Melbourne and a quarterfinal at the French Open, with just the win at Roland Garros missing from her collection, notes CNN .
With a total of 11 winners and five unforced errors, Kerber upstaged the 23-time grand slam winner, who made 24 unforced errors and scored 23 winners.
Back in action at Wimbledon for the first time since she gave birth to her daughter, Olympia, in September, Williams was cheered on from the crowd by her good friend, the Duchess of Sussex, Meghan Markle, and by the Duchess of Cambridge, Kate Middleton, the Inquisitr reported earlier today.
But the 36-year-old U.S. tennis player didn’t have the same impeccable performance shown in Thursday’s semifinal, when she dominated Germany’s Julia Görges 6-2, 6-4 in 70 minutes, as reported by The Guardian .
Seeded 25th in this tournament, her fourth since she became a mother, Williams showed real sportsmanship after being defeated by Kerber and robbed of her chance to score her 24th grand slam title and match Margaret Court’s record.
“She played unbelievable today,” said Williams of Keber, the first top-10 player and grand slam winner she has faced.
“It was such an amazing tournament for me — I was really happy to get this far,” the U.S. tennis player said after the match, per the Wall Street Journal .
Right after her defeat, Williams made a touching remark addressed to all the mothers watching the competition.
“To all the moms out there, I was playing out there for you today and I tried.”
