Ashleigh Barty wins against Wimbledon winner 2018 Angelique Kerber / Image: imago images / Colorsport
The women's final of the All England Tennis Championships at Wimbledon, endowed with £ 35.02 million, is Ashleigh Barty versus Karolina Pliskova. The top seeded Australian defeated the former Wimbledon winner Angelique Kerber from Germany on Thursday after 1:26 hours with 6: 3.7: 6 (3). In the final on Saturday (3 p.m. / live Sky), Barty will now face Pliskova (CZE-8), who beat number two seeded Aryna Sabalenka from Belarus with 5: 7.6: 4.6: 4.
In front of 15,000 spectators on Center Court, Barty became the first Australian in 41 years to move into the final on Church Road. The 25-year-old will now try to follow in the footsteps of Evonne Goolagong, who celebrated the second of her two Wimbledon triumphs in 1980.
Kerber on course, but Barty wins tiebreaker
Kerber had already been on course for set compensation in the second set when she served at 5: 3. Barty managed to equalize and in the tie-break she was in a class of her own: she quickly led 6-0, but only then used her fourth match point to make it 7-3.
“It's unbelievable. It was one of the best tennis matches I've ever played,” said Barty happily. “Angie got the best out of me today and it was a super match from the first point. Now I have a chance to realize my childhood dream,” said the now two-time major finalist. It had won its premiere at the French Open in 2019.
Kerber – Wimbledon winner of 2018 – missed her fifth final at one of the four Grand Slam tournaments and the third final on the “Holy Lawn”.
Premiere for Czech Pliskova
For Pliskova, the entry into the final of the lawn classic is a premiere. She prevailed on Thursday after 1:53 hours and won the third duel with the fourth in the world rankings for the first time. “It sounds unbelievable, I've never got past the fourth round,” said the ex-world number one after her second entry into a major final. In 2016 she had only lost to Kerber at the US Open. “I was a little frustrated in the first sentence, but she served incredibly. I'm very happy that I was able to prevail.”
After a mixed season, the 29-year-old Czech surprisingly reached the final and fought her way back into the top ten. “It's difficult when you don't play well. I tried to stay positive, my team also helped me a lot. But I've had successes in the past and haven't forgotten how to play tennis,” said Pliskova, looking up on the court their year back.
Sabalenka could still be satisfied: she has never come as far as in Wimbledon at any Grand Slam event.
