LONDON, July 7: Angelique Kerber booked a Wimbledon final showdown with defending champion Serena Williams as the German ended Venus Williams� bid for a fairytale title with a 6-4, 6-4 victory on Thursday.
Serena�s demolition of Elena Vesnina in the day�s first semifinal had set up the prospect of a first all-Williams Wimbledon final since 2009.
But Kerber had no intention of being a footnote in Wimbledon history and she saw off five-time champion Venus in 71 minutes on Centre Court to reach her first All England Club title match.
Kerber stunned Serena to win her maiden Grand Slam crown in the Australian Open final in January and the 28-year-old again stands in the way of the world number one�s bid to win a record-equalling 22nd major.
In the first semifinal, six-time champion Serena Williams breezed into her ninth Wimbledon final, and a potential match-up with sister Venus, by demolishing unseeded Russian Elena Vesnina in just 48 minutes today.
The 34-year-old American, who is bidding for an Open Era record-equalling 22nd Grand Slam title, cantered to a 6-2, 6-0 win over her 50th-ranked opponent.
Serena, playing in her 32nd Grand Slam semifinal, blasted last-four debutant Vesnina off the sun-kissed Centre Court in front of Prince William�s wife Kate watching from up in the Royal Box.
The American fired 11 aces, 28 winners and committed just seven unforced errors, breaking serve five times to reach her 28th Grand Slam final.
Vesnina won just three points off the Williams serve in the first set and none in the second.
Despite the painfully one-sided semifinal Williams, into her third Grand Slam final of the year, insisted it had been a tough workout.
Thursday�s contest saw Serena race to a 4-0 lead in the first set before 29-year-old Vesnina got on the board.
But the set was over in 28 minutes courtesy of Williams�s seventh ace.
The second set was wrapped up in just 20 minutes with breaks in the first, third and fifth games.
Saturday�s final will give Serena a chance to win a first major of the season after losing to Kerber in the final in Melbourne and Garbine Muguruza in Paris.
Later on Thursday, she and partner Ekaterina Makarova take on the sisters in the quarterfinals of the women�s doubles.
Vesnina had already scratched from the mixed doubles with partner Bruno Soares on Wednesday night to prepare for her singles semifinal.
Earlier, Roger Federer and Andy Murray showed their never-say-die spirit as the Wimbledon title rivals battled into the semifinals in a pair of Centre Court classics on Wednesday.
Federer saved three match points in a 6-7 (4/7), 4-6, 6-3, 7-6 (11/9), 6-3 victory over Croatian ninth seed Marin Cilic as the world number three reached a record-equalling 11th semifinal at the All England Club.
�Marin is such a wonderful player and I knew I was in so much trouble in the third set and in the fourth,� said Federer.
�But my legs and back were there and serving was key. Mentally this will give me a hell of a boost.�
The 34-year-old also claimed a new record for Grand Slam match wins of 307 as he made a 40th semifinal at the majors.
Federer, a 10-time Wimbledon finalist, will play Canadian sixth seed Milos Raonic as he continues his pursuit of an 18th Grand Slam title and a record eighth All England Club crown.
Murray followed Federer onto Wimbledon�s famous showcourt and treated the crowd to another thriller as he squandered a two-set lead before storming to a 7-6 (12/10), 6-1, 3-6, 4-6, 6-1 win against French 12th seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga.
On the brink of a shock exit, Murray rallied impressively in the deciding set, screaming out to his box �there�s no way I�m losing this match� before making good on his rallying call.
Murray�s 100th career grass-court win booked his seventh Wimbledon semifinal appearance and Czech 10th seed Tomas Berdych stands between the 29-year-old Scot and his second All England Club final.
World number two Murray, beaten in the Australian and French Open finals this year, is looking to earn his third major title and first since becoming the first British man to win Wimbledon for 77 years.
�It was a tough match. Tsonga is one of the best grass-court players in the world and he came up with some great shots at big moments,� Murray said.
�I just tried to use all my energy at the start of the fifth set to get myself pumped up and thankfully I got the early break and managed to hang onto it.�
Even Murray�s rollercoaster victory couldn�t overshadow Federer�s latest Wimbledon heroics as he came from two sets down to win for the 10th time in his glittering career.
Raonic enjoyed far more serene progress to his second Wimbledon semifinal as he ended Sam Querrey�s surprise run to the last eight with a 6-4, 7-5, 5-7, 6-4 victory on Court One.
Berdych was on cruise control as the Czech 10th seed crushed France�s Lucas Pouille 7-6 (7/4), 6-3, 6-2. � Agencies
