Angelique Kerber v Serena Williams Preview – 14th July 2018
We have a repeat of the 2016 Wimbledon final coming up as Serena Williams will be taking on Angelique Kerber for the Grand Slam prize over the weekend. Williams won that 2016 showdown in straight sets. After all of her time away from the game to give birth to her first child, this is only the second Slam that Williams has contested upon her return and now here she is as the 8/15 odds-on favorite to win* (betting odds were taken from July 13th, 2018 at 6:40 pm) the thing again.
Angelique Kerber v Serena Williams Odds*
Serena William 1/2
Angelique Kerber 7/4
* (betting odds were taken from July 13th, 2018 at 6:40 pm)
The 36-year-old has a great record at Wimbledon of course, having won the title there seven times before and had won it back to back in 2015 and 2016 before skipping last year’s edition. Punters were right to question just what her levels were going to be like at Wimbledon, because of a lack of match time, which generally works against players. Clearly not Williams who, after a fourth-round finish at Roland Garros has powered her way back to the final of Wimbledon.
This is her tenth Wimbledon Final appearance and she booked her place there with a straight-sets win over Germany’s Julia Goerges. That was the first seed that Williams had met at this year’s Wimbledon run, but she made light work of the challenge really. Williams has made it all the way to the showcase match having dropped just the one set, which was the opener against Camila Giorgi in the quarter finals. You are looking at odds of 8/15 with William Hill* (betting odds were taken from July 13th, 2018 at 6:40 pm) for this to bet settled in two sets.
Kerber overcomes bigger challenges
It has been a strange Wimbledon tournament with a lot of the top ten seeds falling so early. But Angelique Kerber has managed to stay steady through all of the carnage. It has quietly been a good season from Kerber who hit the semi-finals of the Australian Open and made the final eight at Indian Wells, Miami, Dubai, Rome and Roland Garros. There has been a much stiffer test for Kerber on her route to the final than it has been for Williams.
Keber’s semi-final tie saw her go against young Latvian star Jelena Ostapenko and Kerber had to weather a lot of heavy hitting in that game. Ostapenko, as she does, threw the kitchen sink and then some at the German, but Kerber’s defence just wasn’t going to crack and it is that kind of defence which is going to play a role in her potentially getting the Wimbledon title on the weekend. Kerber has also faced Naomi Osaka, Belinda Bencic, Daria Kasatkina at the tournament, calling on her experience and that great defensive toughness to work her way through.
It was her impressive counter-attacking performance against Ostapenko which confirmed that Kerber is on top of her game at the moment and let’s not forget that Kerber beat Serena Williams in the 2016 Australian Open final. Williams, a formidable opponent in Grand Slam records will have her toughest game of the tournament so far.
Head to Head
Kerber and Williams have met eight times before and Williams is 6-2 up from those meetings. The last time that they met was in the Wimbledon 2016 Final with Williams getting the win there. Williams has won five of the six previous meetings between the two competitors. The 2016 Wimbledon clash is the only previous game between these two on grass.
If you are looking at the year to date head to head comparison then Kerber wins it hands down. She took a 32-12 match record into Wimbledon for the year, with the one title. Williams had just a 5-2 match record ahead of Wimbledon for the year.
Angelique Kerber v Serena Williams Prediction
We are going to stick our necks out and back Keber to come through this. Williams really hasn’t had a serious test during this Wimbledon campaign, while Kerber has had to call on her grit at times. The German is moving really well to cover the court and is counter-attacking so brilliantly that we can see her handling Williams in the final. We are backing the underdog to prevail at those nice 7/4 odds* (betting odds were taken from July 13th, 2018 at 6:40 pm).
