Angelique Kerber downs Daria Kasatkina to make Wimbledon semis

LONDON: Angelique Kerber's ever-reliable legs helped her score in a chess-game of a tennis match against Russian Daria Kasatkina, whose range of shots - drops, lobs, single-fisted slices, sizzling forehands - entertained Centre Court. The 21-year-old, who confessed to being 'amazed' by her own ability, the staggering variety she can rustle up in 90-minutes of action, played like one locked in a competition of not repeating, a caress, a cut, a dink, an angle, a line.And more.
The 30-year-old Kerber, who appears to have reclaimed the stillness within, met craft with stout-hearted consistency, closing out on her seventh match point, to make her third Wimbledon semifinal. Kasatkina had 33 winners to Kerber's 16, but the 2016 finalist had just 14 unforced errors, less than half of the 14th-seed's count of 31. More importantly, the former No.1 came through 6-3, 7-5 and will play Latvia's big-hitting Jelena Ostapenko in the last-four on Thursday.
Meanwhile, American superstar Serena Williams rallied for a 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 win over Italy's Camila Giorgi and will play German 13th seed Julia Goerges in what will be the 36-year-old's 11th semifinal at the All England Club. Williams heroics aside, the match of the day was the Kerber-Kasatkina affair, most notably the seven match-points, six of which were saved by the Russian before the seventh was won, such was the level of play.
Kerber was all over the court, finding an answer, solving a puzzle. "It's not easy because you feel nerves, you get a little bit tight when you have your third or fourth match-points. I was thinking, I'm running everywhere on the court, playing another point, trying to push myself to the limit. But this is tennis, this makes it exciting," said the German, who is enjoying a comeback of sorts in 2018, where she also made the last-four of the Australian Open. "I'm looking forward to playing the semis now. This is where I put my focus now."
Kasatkina, wavy tresses that fall to her waist, soft hands and quick feet, said she felt no fear as she saved match-point after match-point in a bid to take her seventh meeting with the former No.1 into the decider.
"My head was empty, I didn't feel any pressure. I was just going on the next point, playing, playing, playing. I think this is the key to win big matches, don't put anything in your head, play with an empty head," said the Russian, whose 'jumping shots', a little hop before execution saw the crowd on its feet. "The best shot I hit in the final game was the jumping drop shot backhand, it was amazing. Today I show everything I can do, all my shots, emotions and stuff. I lose, but at the end I'm happy with my performance. I hope a lot of Wimbledons are in front of me."
The German, who led by a set and was up 3-1 in the second, looked to be cruising before Kasatkina snuck in, turning a tennis match into a cerebral exchange of stealthy moves and sparkling movement. The 12th game of the last-eight clash capsuled the best of the match. Their most robust exchange came at deuce though when the duo covered every inch of the turf, going back and forth in a 25-rally point before Kerber closed out with a volley to set up her sixth match-point. The German finally closed with the weight of a forehand that didn't find a sufficient response from her opponent.
In the other women's quarterfinal clashes, 12th seed Jelena Ostapenko put out Dominika Cibulkova of Slovakia 7-5, 6-4 in 1 hour and 22 minutes; German 13th seed Julia Goerges put out Dutchwoman Kiki Bertens 3-6, 7-5, 6-1.
In the lone men's fourth-round clash, carried over from Monday, fifth-seeded Argentine Juan Martin Del Potro, who led by two sets to one against Frenchman Gilles Simon, did well to come through 7-6 (7-1), 7-6 (7-5), 5-7, 7-6 (7-5).