mtenis.com.pl

There is no happier milestone in a professional tennis career than a Grand Slam title, as Angelique Kerber well knows.

The memorable victor of the AO2016 final, in which she defeated Serena Williams in three superb-quality sets, Kerber went on to contest the Wimbledon final and win the US Open in the same year. With those career-defining achievements, she also became world No.1.

MORE: Day 11 schedule of play

Now the German appears returned to those heights, after a stunning run of form on Australian soil. In claiming her 11th career title in Sydney, Kerber recorded wins over players including Venus Williams, Dominika Cibulkova and Ash Barty. In a near-perfect campaign in Melbourne, Su-Wei Hsieh is the only opponent to deliver Kerber with a three-set test.

Wednesday’s quarterfinal victory over Madison Keys was both a 14th straight match win for the former champion – factoring in four singles matches won at the Hopman Cup – and her most empathic AO2018 performance so far. It took Kerber just 51 minutes to move past the 2017 US Open finalist with a 6-1 6-2 win.

MORE: Kerber blasts past Keys


Angelique Kerber def. Madison Keys match highlights (QF)
Video 18 hours ago

Returned to a second semifinal in Melbourne, Angie is also returned to her happiest event. “I will never forget the memories I had 2016 here, so that's why I feel so good,” she said. “And I know all the places in Melbourne where I can go for, let's say, a coffee or just when I have a day off.”

Certainly there are many places to visit in a favourite city, but for now the focus is entirely on the court. There is little to separate Kerber and semifinal opponent Simona Halep in head-to-head encounters, with the AO2016 champion leading tour-level events 4-3.

While Kerber won their only Grand Slam match at Wimbledon in 2016, the top seed is competing with fierce determination in Melbourne. After her epic third round with Lauren Davis – in which she saved three match points before a 15-13 third set victory – Halep won her next two matches without losing a set.

Wednesday’s quarterfinal victory over Karolina Pliskova arguably made the biggest statement, the 26-year-old recovering from a 0-3 deficit to win 6-3 6-2. "It wasn't my best start but I just knew I have to restart actually after three games, to stop missing that much and to move better which I did pretty well in the end," Halep said.


Simona Halep v Karolina Pliskova match highlights (QF)
Video 13 hours ago

Against Kerber, she hopes to produce more of the same. "I have to be strong in my legs and be calm and start playing like I did at the end of the match,” surmised Halep, who know that as a two-time French Open finalist, Grand Slam success is long overdue.

Caroline Wozniacki also enters the semifinal with unfinished business, given an opportunity surrendered in Melbourne seven years ago. “It's been a few years. Last time I was in the semifinals here, I had match points against Li Na. I lost it. That's still haunting me till this day,” said the world No.2 after her three-set win over Carla Suarez Navarro. “I'm hoping for a different result this time.”


Carla Suárez Navarro v Caroline Wozniacki match highlights (QF)
Video 23 Jan 18

Already this Australian Open has been one of turnarounds for Wozniacki, given the match points saved against Jana Fett in the second round. “That was a crazy comeback. Now everything that I do is just a plus,” she pointed out.

Not that there’ll be complacency as Wozniacki faces Elise Mertens, who has defied her lack of a seeding to reach the semifinals in her main draw debut. The only other meeting between the pair was in Bastad last year, where the Dane won in three sets. “I have to serve well, return well, stay aggressive (and) make her move,” Wozniacki said.


Elise Mertens press conference (QF)
Video 23 Jan 18

A win against the world No. 37 Belgian would see the popular Dane into a third Grand Slam final, after her runner-up performances at the US Open in 2009 and 2014. For Mertens, the best major result so far has been a third-round showing at the 2017 French Open, but riding a 10-match winning streak in Australia – after defending her Hobart title – the Belgian is in a positive frame of mind. “Everything is possible in tennis. I mean, if you believe in yourself, then anything can happen,” she said.

That attitude has certainly proven true for Kyle Edmund, another debut semifinalist at AO2018. With wins over seeded opponents in Kevin Anderson and Grigor Dimitrov, the 49th-ranked Brit now faces Marin Cilic.



Edmund's remarkable road to the Semifinals
Video 23 Jan 18

“At first, you know, it's a bit surreal. Then you take it in your stride,” noted the 23-year-old of meeting such big-name opponents. “That competitive instinct comes in.