Former world No.1 Angelique Kerber is a win away from a third grand slam crown after storming into her second Wimbledon final in three years.
Clashing for the first time, Kerber saw off misfiring 12th seed Jelena Ostapenko 6-3 6-3 in Thursday’s first women’s semi-final at The All England Club.
Runner-up to Serena Williams in 2016, the German only needed 68 minutes to advance as Ostapenko’s fearless hit-or-miss tennis backfired on the sport’s biggest stage.
Kerber struck just 10 winners to Ostapenko’s 30, but that was more than enough as Latvia’s 2017 French Open champion sprayed Centre Court with 36 unforced errors.
A decade older than Ostapenko, 31-year-old Kerber’s experience and patient waiting game paid rich dividends as the 2016 Australian Open and US Open winner only offered up seven mistakes from her end.
All up, Kerber broke Ostapenko four times to earn herself either another crack at Williams for the title on Saturday or the first all-German women’s grand slam final in 87 years against 13th seed Julia Goerges.