Wimbledon 2018: Serena Williams storms past Julia Goerges to set up women's final with Angelique Kerber

The American cruised to victory in just over an hour, winning 6-2 6-4

The 14th match of Serena Williams’ comeback following her 14-month break from tennis will be in the Wimbledon final. The 36-year-old American, who is playing in only her fourth tournament since returning to competition following the birth of her first child, will take on Angelique Kerber on Saturday in a repeat of their final here in 2016.

After Kerber had beaten Jelena Ostapenko 6-3, 6-3 on Centre Court in the first of Thursday’s semi-finals, Williams ended any chance of an all-German final when she beat Julia Goerges 6-2, 6-4.

The seven-times champion’s victory was every bit as emphatic as the scoreline suggested. Goerges did not do much wrong, as her tally of 20 winners and just 11 unforced errors underlined, but Williams never looked in any serious trouble.

The world No 181, who is guaranteed to return to the top 30 next week, served beautifully, hit her ground strokes with power and conviction and moved with a fluidity that had been missing in the early days of her comeback.

Winning a place in her 10th Wimbledon final and her 30th in all Grand Slam tournaments just 10 months after a very difficult birth is an extraordinary achievement. Victory in Saturday’s final would see her equal Margaret Court’s all-time record of 24 Grand Slam singles titles, though Williams insisted that she had not been thinking about such matters.

“Whatever happens is obviously an incredible effort for me and just good motivation to keep going for the rest of my career,” Williams said.

Williams’ service was as impressive as ever (Getty Images)

“This was not inevitable for me. I had a really tough delivery [of my baby]. I had to have multiple surgeries. I almost didn’t make it to be honest. I remember I couldn’t even walk to my mailbox, so it’s definitely not normal for me to be in a Wimbledon final. I’m taking everything as it is and just enjoying every moment.”

She added: “It’s crazy. I don’t even know how to feel. I literally didn’t expect to do this well in my fourth tournament back. I just feel like when I don’t have anything to lose I can play so free.”

Williams beat Goerges at the French Open last month, but the 29-year-old German was happier with her performance here. Goerges had never gone beyond the third round in her 10 previous appearances at Wimbledon, but has made big improvements to her grass-court game since bringing David Prinosil, a former top 30 player, into her entourage.

The world No 13 has hit more aces in this tournament than any other woman – 47 to Williams’ 44 – but the American made regular inroads into her service games. Goerges saved a break point in her first service game and gave as good as she got in the early stages, but at 2-3 Williams broke serve, winning the last two points after beautifully constructed rallies which put her opponent under increasing pressure.

The German simply didn’t have enough to match the quality of her opponent (Getty Images)

When Goerges served at 2-5 she went 0-40 down with a double fault and then lost the first set point when she missed a forehand.

Goerges made a decent enough start to the second set, but again faltered at 2-3. Having gone 30-40 down after Williams hit a backhand winner down the line, the German put an attempted drop shot into the net.

Williams served for the match at 5-3, only to drop serve for the first time. Having gone 0-40 down she saved two break points, the second of them with her fastest serve of the match at 119mph, only for Goerges to convert the third with a thumping forehand return.

The Centre Court crowd, no doubt hoping for more entertainment, roared their approval, but when Goerges served to stay in the set she went 0-30 down with two forehand errors, double-faulted and then hit a lob beyond the baseline.

“I thought she played really well,” Williams said. “I had to bring my A game. I’ve never seen her play this well.”

Williams is closing in on an eighth Wimbleton title (AFP/Getty Images)

Goerges pointed out that every game in the first set had been close and said the match had been valuable experience for her.

“Overall I felt I played great,” she said. “I’d never got to that stage in a Grand Slam before. I think I’m working towards achieving that another time. [It helps] playing more and more these kind of players. I think Serena is the one you want to play, who you want to get the experience from.”

Williams beat Kerber in straight sets in the 2016 Wimbledon final, which was their last meeting, but the German beat her in the final of that year’s Australian Open to claim her first Grand Slam title. Williams has won six of their eight meetings, but will be taking nothing for granted.

“I feel like she’s been playing really well,” Williams said. “I don’t think a lot of people were at the beginning of the tournament. I think grass is her best surface. She plays so well here. She knows how to play on this court.”

Williams, whose friend the Duchess of Sussex will attend the final, talked about the “crazy 10 months” since the birth of her daughter.

“I was still pregnant at this time last year,” she said. “That’s something I have to keep reminding myself. Going out there, being a mum, is super cool. Knowing that no matter what happens, I have amazing support and unconditional love is such a great feeling. I really can’t describe it.

The American fires across a thumping backhand (Getty Images)

“I never knew it until it happened. It’s great. I feel really proud to be a role model. I’ve embraced it. I’ve always embraced it, but I feel like I want to do more, to try actually to be even more of a role model. I think it’s so important for me. It’s one of my life goals.”

Williams also talked about coping with pulmonary embolisms, which have been a recurring health problem for her and were a factor in her health issues during and after the birth of her daughter.

“It’s more mentally challenging because if I have a pain in my leg, I automatically go to the worst-case scenario,” she said. “Even this week, I had a pain in my leg, and I went to the worst-case scenario: ‘Oh, my God, I have a PE in my leg.’

“It’s mentally very, very difficult. I didn’t know I would have such traumatic thoughts, especially now that I have a daughter. I want to be around as long as I can to support her. It’s interesting how that mental recovery is actually taking much longer than I ever expected.”​