Angelique Kerber is looking to win Wimbledon for a second time, while the three other women’s semifinalists are hoping to capture their first title at The All-England Club.
Kerber is joined in the semifinals by No. 1 Ash Barty, No. 2 Aryna Sabalenka and No. 8 Karolína Plíšková. World No. 1 Barty won her only major at the 2019 French Open, while Sabalenka and Pliskova have never won a Slam.
“It’s the ultimate test, Angie’s obviously had success here before and had the best fortnight here possible,” Barty, 25, said ahead of her semifinal Thursday with Kerber. “I love that matchup, I love playing Angie, she’s an incredible competitor. She knows her way around this court and I hope I can give myself a a chance and play a good match.”
After spending much of the pandemic confined to her home country of Australia, Barty has returned to playing at an elite level and closed out her 6-1, 6-3 win over fellow Australian Ajla Tomljanović with an ace. Barty smacked five aces and had 17 forehand winners in the match.
Barty is into her first major semifinal since the Australian Open in 2020 and is the first Australian to reach the semis in London since Jelena Dokic in 2000. She has split her four matches with Kerber.
“I think I had to play my absolute best to compete with her,” Barty said of Tomjanovich. “She’s had an incredible fortnight and I think all Aussies back home are incredibly proud of her and it was really nice to share the court with her today.”
After losing in straight sets in the first round at the French Open May 30, Kerber has responded by winning 10 straight matches, including the Wimbledon warmup event in her home country in Bad Homburg. Her march to the semifinals at Wimbledon included a fourth-round win over Coco Gauff.
“I really enjoy every moment here,” Kerber, the 33-year-old three time major champion and No. 25 seed, said after she dominated No. 19 Karolína Muchová, 6-2, 6-3 in the quarterfinals.
“I think it’s the grass and you guys,” added Kerber, who beat Serena Williams in the 2018 final. “I was so excited to play again in the grasscourt season after a one-year break to coming back on this surface, and I really worked the last few months, the last few weeks, and I’m so happy that I can now play my tennis again, having my heart on the court and fighting until the last ball. It’s a magic place and I’m so happy to be in the semis now.”
In the other semifinal, Pliskova, the 2016 U.S. Open finalist, will meet Sabalenka, who has reached her first major semifinal at 23. The native of Belarus, is 2-0 against the 29-year-old Czech.
Sabalenka is the third Belarusian woman to reach the last four of Wimbledon following Natasha Zvereva in 1998 and Victoria Azarenka in 2011 and ‘12. Sabalenka had never progressed past the fourth round of a Grand Slam prior to this fortnight, despite winning 10 titles since 2018 and rising to a current career high ranking of world No.4.
Sabalenka said that Pliskova is “a great player. She's moving well right now. She's hitting balls really solid and serving well. It's going to be a tough match, but I'm really looking forward for this one. As I said in the on-court interview, I'll do everything I can to win that one.”
Two of the top three women in the world — No. 2 Naomi Osaka and No. 3 Simona Halep —did not play Wimbledon, Osaka for personal reasons and Halep due to injury. Yet form has held to some extent with the top two seeds still alive for the title.
Thirteen different women have won the last 17 major titles and there have been 10 first-time champions in the last 16 majors.
There have been four different Wimbledon champions in the last four years: Halep (2019), Kerber, Garbine Muguruza (2017) and Serena Williams (2016). If someone other than Kerber wins Saturday, it will be five in five years.
The No. 1 seed has only won the title three times in the last 12 years on the women’s side.