--Mitch Hedberg
Even stars like Manny Pacquiao in boxing, Brazil and Argentina in FIFA World Cup could fall with a big thud sometimes.
Serena Williams' effort to capture her first major title since giving birth to her daughter, Alexis Olympia Ohanian Jr., only 10 months ago came up short as Angelique Kerber scored a 6-3, 6-3 upset victory over the celebrated American tennis star July 14 to pocket the 2018 Wimbledoo women’s singles title at the All England Club in London.
Kerber, who is now a three-time major champion, who won the Australian Open and U.S. Open in 2016, is a French Open championship away from the career Grand Slam.
Tim Daniels reported that “it didn't take long to see the match wouldn't be another quick Serena coronation.”
Kerber, who defeated Williams to win her first major at the 2016 Aussie Open, secured a break in the powerful server's first game to make an immediate statement, Daniels added.
He further reported: Although Williams eventually fought back to win three straight games in the middle of the set, her German counterpart's trademark defense forced her to hit a lot of shots almost every game, and she wasn't up to the challenge. She committed 14 unforced errors in the first set.
The second set was pretty much a carbon copy of the first.
Williams never found a rhythm, racking up 10 more unforced errors, while Kerber continued to play a sound, steady brand of tennis with five winners and only two errors to slowly pull away.
This result doesn't take away from Williams' outstanding run at Wimbledon. She's less than a year removed from a life-threatening experience that began with a pulmonary embolism following her daughter's birth that ultimately forced her to spend six weeks on bed rest during her recovery.
"First my C-section wound popped open due to the intense coughing I endured as a result of the embolism," she wrote for CNN, adding she "almost died."
"I returned to surgery, where the doctors found a large hematoma, a swelling of clotted blood, in my abdomen. And then I returned to the operating room for a procedure that prevents clots from traveling to my lungs."
While she didn't capture her eighth Wimbledon title, she's on the way to establishing herself as the sport's dominant figure once again. She'll likely be the favorite when the U.S. Open gets underway in August.
Kerber deserves full credit for the win. She realized Williams wasn't in top form early on and used her defensive skill set to force her opponent to run a lot and hit shots from tough angles. The ensuing errors were the difference in the match.
Whenever Kerber enters retirement, the fact she beat Serena in two Grand Slam finals will be a hallmark of what could end up being a Hall of Fame career.
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