ICYMI at Wimbledon: Kerber triumphs; the Duchesses come to visit

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3:59 PM ET

  • Victoria MonkESPN

WIMBLEDON — Angelique Kerber is a Wimbledon champion. A replica of the 2016 final, but this time, it was the German player’s time to strike revenge on her victor from two years’ previous.

As Kerber held the Venus Rosewater Dish after her dominating 6-3, 6-3 victory over Serena Williams, no doubt her mind will have floated back to their previous meeting on the very same court and the tumultuous journey her career has been on since.

While Williams’ 2018 Wimbledon campaign has marked not least a remarkable comeback since maternity leave — her daughter, Alexis Olympi,a was born in September last year — Kerber, too, has been making a comeback of sorts.

After a title-laden 2016 — Kerber won both the US and Australian Open — she finished the year as World No.1 but then proceeded to plunge through the rankings to No.21 in 2017 after failing to win a single tournament.

Then came Wim Fissette.

Last November, Kerber announced her partnership with Fisette — previous coach of Johanna Konta, Simona Halep and Kim Clijsters — and her tennis has been on an upwards trajectory since.

Now, looking out over the crowds from the Wimbledon champions’ balcony, it is only the French Open that eludes the 30-year-old.

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Angelique Kerber reflects on her stunning 6-3 6-3 win over 23-time Grand Slam champion Serena Williams for her first Wimbledon title.

A few tasty stats:

  • Kerber is one of only two women to beat Serena Williams twice in a major final — the only other being Serena’s sister, Venus

  • She is the first German player to win Wimbledon since Steffi Graf in 1996

  • At the French Open next year, Kerber will have a chance to complete the career Grand Slam now that she has won at three of the four majors

  • Serena will move into the Top 30 with this run at Wimbledon (previously World No. 181)

Oh, and the match prompted a few responses on social media, too:

Just 10 months ago, Williams suffered life-threatening pulmonary embolisms after delivering her daughter via C-section.

Yet on Saturday, fans, royals, celebrities and players past and present looked on as Serena competed in the Wimbledon final.

The first thing Kerber said in her on-court interview after winning the title was to bow down to this incredible feat: “First I have to say Serena, you’re a great person and a champion. Coming back, you’re such an inspiration for everyone. I’m sure you will have your next grand slam title soon, so congrats for coming back.”

And with the calm dignity that she has shown throughout the entire duration of this tournament, Serena was gracious in defeat.

“You’re a superhuman, a supermom”, said on-court interviewer Sue Barker, to which Willliams replied, “No, I’m just me.”

Then to the press afterwards, she said, “She [Kerber] played unbelievable today.”

But she went on to explain about her journey as a mother, and as a role model. “My priority is my baby. Just being with her, doing things with her, spending time with her. That’s totally my priorities.

“I train in the morning. I spend the rest of the day with her. So I don’t get to be with her the full day, but a pretty good chunk out of the day.

“I just like to tell all the moms, I had such a long struggle to come back, and it was really difficult. Honestly, I feel like if I can do it, they can do it.”

Earlier Saturday saw the completion of the second longest semifinal ever to be played at Wimbledon — second only to the other men’s 2018 semifinal between Kevin Anderson and John Isner Friday.

Novak Djokovoic finally overcame Rafael Nadal — after play was carried over from Friday evening — 6-4, 3-6, 7-6 (9), 3-6, 10-8 over five hours and 16 minutes on their 52nd meeting.

Lucky Centre Court ticket holders!

And here’s how social media reacted:

GB’s Alfie Hewett and Gordon Reid won their third successive Wimbledon wheelchair doubles title by defeating Germany’s Joachim Gerard and Sweden’s Stefan Olsson.

Tasty stat: The British duo have never lost at Wimbledon as a pair.

This article was originally published by Espn.com. Read the original article here.
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