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maltatoday, SUNDAY, 10 JULY 2016 53 WILLIAMS endured a shock de- feat to Kerber at the Australian Open in January but there was to be no repeat on Centre Court as she edged a thrilling contest 7-5 6-3. The world number one is now tied with Steffi Graf at the top of the Open era women's champions list and just two short of Margaret Court's all-time record of 24 titles. After sealing victory with a fore- hand volley, Williams dropped her racket and fell outstretched on her back before rising to meet Kerber in a warm embrace. She has now won 22 of her 28 Grand Slam finals and also moves level with Graf on seven Wimble- don triumphs, joint second in the Open era behind Martina Navrati- lova's nine. Winning 22 slams seemed inevi- table when Williams was crowned champion here 12 months ago but three surprise defeats in Flushing Meadows, Melbourne and Paris had prolonged the wait. "It's been incredibly difficult not to think about it," Williams said. "I had a couple of tries this year, against two great opponents, one being Angelique. It makes the vic- tory even sweeter to know how hard I worked for it." Kerber had played the match of her life to beat her prestigious op- ponent in Australia just 161 days ago and she was a valiant competi- tor again, the scoreline hardly do- ing justice to the part she played. "I would like to say congrats to Serena," Kerber said. "You really deserved the title, you're a great champion and it's always an honour to play against you in the finals. We played a great match, you deserve it so well done." Many suspected Kerber's most re- cent victory might be a one-off but the world number four, who will rise to number two after this tour- nament, had been ruthless in these championships, bidding to become the first German Wimbledon sin- gles champion since Graf, her friend and mentor, beat Arantxa Sanchez Vicario 20 years ago. Williams had beaten Elena Vesni- na in just 48 minutes on Thursday but Kerber made an early statement of intent with a driving backhand winner on the very first point. It roused the crowd, which in- cluded former champions Billie- Jean King, Martina Hingis and Navratilova sitting in the Royal Box, plus pop star Beyonce who was accompanied by her husband Jay Z. There was an even greater cheer when Kerber registered her first game after withstanding some ear- ly pressure on serve. Williams had clearly done her homework. Two exquisite drop- shots suggested she was not pre- pared to let her opponent sit behind the baseline, where her powers of retrieval had proven so effective in Australia. And she was also fired up. After finishing one superb exchange at 3-3 with a crisp forehand volley, the top seed pumped her arms and roared in delight. Kerber, however, was far from overawed, her slapping forehand a constant menace, to the extent that in the ninth game its force left Wil- liams crumpled on the grass. The pressure though proved too much at 6-5, as a Kerber backhand gave Williams two set points and the American capitalised on the second with a whipping backhand out wide. Kerber was once known to fade under the stress of adversity but if anything, she began the second set with even greater vigour, a boom- ing backhand and then forehand pass both sending the crowd into frenzy. She earned her first break point of the match at 3-3 but Williams stamped out the threat with two aces, the second clocking 124 miles per hour, six miles per hour faster than Andy Murray's first-serve av- erage against Tomas Berdych. Just as in the first set, the bat- tle was fierce, one point leaving both players flicking the ball back and forth at the net with Williams again falling to the floor. Kerber won it but lost the game, broken from 4-3 to leave Williams serving for the match. She finished it to love, a forehand volley con- firming victory before she released her racket and dropped to the grass as champion again. Sport TENNIS Serena beats Kerber in Wimbledon final to match Graf's record Serena Williams finally clinched a record-equalling 22nd Grand Slam singles title as the American exacted sweet revenge over Angelique Kerber in the Wimbledon final Serena Williams celebrates her victory Murray game 'suits Raonic' THE coach who set Milos Raonic on the road to the Wimbledon final has no doubt his former pupil will prove too strong for Andy Murray today. It was a day just like any other in early 1999 when father Dusan, heeding the advice of his barber, took the eight-year-old Milos along to the Blackmore Tennis Club in Richmond Hill, Ontario, on the To- ronto outskirts. Located in a well-to-do neighbour- hood, the club and its coach Casey Curtis had established a reputation for nurturing talent, and Dusan was willing to indulge his young son's wide-eyed enthusiasm for the sport. The moment Curtis set eyes on Raonic that day was one of epiphany. "Believe it or not, on the first day I turned to my assistant and said, 'I think that kid's going to be number one in the world one day'," Curtis said. "The balls were flying all over the place but the boy could really swing a racket, and that's a huge asset. I've been coaching tennis for a long time so it's not difficult for me to see when someone is well above average. "He had a tremendous passion for the game and he listened really well and learned very well." Raonic worked with Curtis until, at the age of 17, he joined the profes- sional tour. Eight years on and Raonic is not quite number one in the world yet, but the 6ft 5in Canadian could land the greatest prize in tennis when he tackles Murray on Centre Court. Murray holds the upper hand with a 6-3 win-loss record from their past meetings, however their Australian Open semi-final at the start of the year was marred by a groin injury to Raonic, which hampered him for the second half of a match he lost in five sets. In the fifth, Raonic de- stroyed a racket out of despair. And from a set and 3-0 up against Murray in the Aegon Champion- ships final three weeks ago, Raonic should have taken the title, only to allow Murray a route back in. "I actually believe that if there's one guy in the top five that Milos thinks he can handle, it's Andy," Curtis said. "Watching the Australian semi, I thought Milos was ready to put Andy away in that match. "He had a bad injury and he was out for a while after that. I was talk- ing to him then and I know what happened, and it's the only time I've watched a player smash a racket where I wasn't upset. "I hate it some days when they do that and the kids are watching, but I felt for Milos on that one, I really felt his frustration. I really felt he was about to go to the final of Australia. "I think he beats Andy on Sunday." Curtis pins his belief on the sear- ing second serves that Raonic has been slinging down at Wimbledon, never mind the 140mph-plus first deliveries. "It's one thing he's been doing dif- ferently," Curtis said. "He's been hit- ting his second serve much harder at this tournament and in two of his matches he averaged 119mph on second serves. That's what he can do. I think it's the key to Milos' game. "I know his serve very, very well because I taught it to him." Raonic "has a real love for Wim- bledon" and as a youngster would repeatedly watch videos of Pete Sampras winning All England Club titles, according to California-born Curtis, who now runs his own acad- emy. Curtis was in two minds about whether to check out last-minute flights to London. "I've thought about it. Can you get me a seat on Henman Hill if I can't get on Centre Court?" he said. "There's a lot of excitement here in the Toronto area. I got emotional af- ter the semi-final. It's the dream we had as a kid. He's like a son to me. It's huge." But with John McEnroe, Carlos Moya and Riccardo Piatti present- ing a formidable coaching team, Curtis suspects Raonic will manage if he stays away. "I don't think he needs a fourth coach, do you?" Curtis said. "I feel my job is complete, even though I'm not there."