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Ashleigh Barty will take on Angelique Kerber in an exciting semi-final match at Wimbledon. AP
Angelique Kerber absolutely flashes through a service game to hold the love, and now Barty will serve for the set. Barty starts badly and goes down 0-30 in no time. She’s used to it, however, and fights her way back to win the game before winning the set with a beautiful ace!
Today’s match-ups promise plenty of action, with world number 1 Ashleigh Barty in the first competition of the day against the three-time Grand Slam winner Angelique Kerber, while the second seeded Aryna Sabalenka meets the eighth seeded Karolina Pliskova in the following duel. Stay tuned, we’re bringing you the latest updates, the live score and more!
Barty is boiling over a running forehand and Kerber is getting the first blood in this crucial game. Barty hits wide, and Kerber’s return is hit well out of the field. Barty creates a nice combination of a wide serve and fast network access. A forehand winner from Barty, that was centimeter accurate! Barty’s inside-out forehand winner and she holds the serve! It’s tiebreak time folks!
The first point goes to Barty when Kerber hits a long shot. Barty’s forehand then lands in Doppelgasse. Another mistake on Barty’s forehand, she hits it into the net for 30-15. Again a forehand in the net from Barty, 40-15. Kerber now hits a backhand, 40-30. Aah, very lucky for Barty when on her return she cuts the tip of the net and falls on Kerber’s side. Two. Kerber hits wide, and when Barty tries to return to the center after returning, Kerber encounters a winner behind her. Kerber then holds the serve with a winner, and Barty will serve again to stay in the set!
Long rally at the first point that Barty ends with a nice forehand that lands right on the line. Kerber hits a long shot, Barty is 30-0 ahead. An ace in the middle of Barty, and Kerber instantly challenges it, but to no avail, it hit the line when it went out. Barty holds on to love with a backhand winner across the board! It’s ten points in a row for Barty!
Ashleigh Barty is doing really, really well under the heavy pressure to hold on to serve, and now Kerber is going to serve for the set. Barty takes control of the first rally and then wins the point with a powerful smash. Kerber then makes a casual backhand mistake, and that’s a real pressure point in the sentence. Kerber’s backhand hits the net and Barty now has three breakpoints in this crucial game! And she brings the set back to serve with a love break after a forehand winner! Excellent World No. 1 Letter of Intent!
Three forehand errors in a row, by Barty, Kerber, and Barty in that order, and it’s 30-15. Barty then fails to return a serve and her backhand flies far from the baseline. It’s Kerber’s turn to make a mistake, her forehand is hit with a little too much force. Kerber hits a forehand into the net, now it’s called deception. Kerber pushes Barty far, and Barty’s desperate shot back is only inches long. Kerber then completes the hold with an inside-out forehand winner and Barty will now stay in the second set.
Good start for Barty in her service game, with an ace at the start and a fault from Kerber. Kerber then takes a point back with an excellent mistake that forces Barty to make a mistake, but another Kerber mistake and an ace from Barty are enough to get the Australian to hold.
Kerber would do well to dictating the first short rally of the game and forcing Barty to make a mistake, but the Australian wins the next point with two consecutive forehand winners. The second was a little lucky, however, it hit the top edge of the net and just landed on the right side. Kerber then makes a mistake, hits the net before Barty almost falls over and hits a shot into the crowd. Barty has a breakpoint, but Kerber manages to save him in good time with a dropshot followed by a pass forehand. Barty’s mistake and Advantage Kerber. Kerber then finished the hold with a forehand winner down the line, she held the serve under enormous pressure!
Kerber hits a backhand into the net, followed by a forehand that flies just past the baseline. Kerber challenges the call, but it beats it by a few inches. Barty leans widely, and Kerber again fails to return him. Kerber manages to take a point after forcing Barty to miss a forehand down the line, but Barty completes the grip with another big serve.
Angelique Kerber is really building up steam here, and when Ashleigh If Barty does not act soon, she could find herself in a very difficult position. Barty makes three consecutive mistakes on the backhand before hitting a forehand into the net while Kerber holds on to love.
Angelique Kerber responds very well to a loss of a set as she raises the stake to serve in her first service game to keep. Barty’s service game starts badly for the Australian as Kerber snatches control of the first few points and goes 0:40 up. Barty looks vulnerable right now, Kerber has a great chance of breaking. Barty’s serve is good and Kerber’s return flies well off the baseline. Another great serve from Barty, Kerber hits the air and Barty smashes him past the German. Barty then tries a forehand down the line, but it’s terribly wrong and Kerber has the early break in the second set!
Preview: In a way, Ash Barty’s rise to # 1 on the women’s list can be traced back to a loss to Angelique Kerber Leading back three years ago.
Barty played her first final in her native Australia and was beaten in straight sets by Kerber in Sydney International in 2018 – and came with a new understanding of what it takes to get to the top.
« I remember walking off the pitch and feeling like my level was close, but it wasn’t good enough, » said Barty. « That was almost a small reset, because I knew I wasn’t far away, but I’m not there yet. »
Now Barty is not far from her first Wimbledon title. But not there yet, because Kerber stands in her way again in the semi-finals on Thursday.
« I think the challenge of playing against her in a Wimbledon semi-final is an incredible opportunity that I’m really looking forward to » said Barty, who won her only Grand Slam title at the 2019 French Open. « It’s not scary or overwhelming, it’s just exciting. »
Kerber is the only remaining ex-women’s champion in the tournament. The other two semi-finalists, No. 2 Aryna Sabalenka and Karolina Pliskova, are among the last four at the All England Club for the first time.
The 33-year-old Kerber is only placed 25th at Wimbledon, but appears to have won a warm-up tournament to have rediscovered her best turf form in Bad Homburg.
She has a 2-2 career record against Barty, but their last meeting was in 2018 and they have never played on turf. Kerber believes that the fact that her name is already on the Wimbledon trophy could give her an advantage.
« Of course it’s a good feeling to already have the trophy at home and to have won it here, » she said. « Now I’m back. I’m coming after a really difficult time. I haven’t played well in the last few months. Well, winning a tournament at home last week, now playing well here again, that means a lot to me. » For her part, Barty has never looked closely at the Venus Rosewater Dish, as the women’s trophy is called.
« I think it’s like a court case downstairs, » said Barty after her quarterfinal win over the Australian Ajla Tomljanovic: « I can’t say I went upstairs and kind of looked inside. Maybe one day I’ll get a chance to see it. «
Changed date:
July 08, 2021 7:19:29 PM IST
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World number one Djokovic, who is on the hunt for a sixth Wimbledon and a record-breaking 20th major, is already halfway to becoming only the third man to complete a calendar Grand Slam.
Defending champion Djokovic survived a nervous third set and defeated the 114th American qualifier Denis Kudla with 6-4, 6-3, 7-6 (9/7) and thus secured a place in the fourth round of a Grand Slam for the 55th time .
Former world number one Pliskova, who is now in 13th place, will face second-placed Belarusian Aryna Sabalenka on Thursday for a place in the final on Saturday.
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