Wimbledon women’s semifinals: What they need to do to win

They are two intriguing semifinals, but what do the players have to do to win? We take a look at both the stats that matter and the things that could determine who will be playing in Saturday’s Wimbledon final.

Serena Williams [1] v Elena Vesnina
H2H: 4-0
Last meeting: Serena won 6-4 6-2 (Beijing 2013)
Grass court H2H: First meeting
Serena Williams Wimbledon best: Winner 2002, 2003, 2009, 2010, 2012, 2015
Elena Vesnina Wimbledon best: 4R 2009

What Serena needs to do to win: Play her game. Being brutally honest, if Serena has a ‘normal’ day at the office she can beat pretty much any player in the world. So that’s what she has to aim for in the semifinals: a normal day. If she doesn’t have one of those and has a wobble (which has happened once or twice in the last twelve months), a confident Elena Vesnina could cause her all sorts of problems.

What Vesnina needs to do to win: Have a go. If Vesnina plays conservatively, she’ll lose. If Vesnina has an average day, she’ll lose. If Vesnina comes out and has a crack, she’s either going to miss by a mile (and lose), or connect and start to cause Serena problems. In many ways that makes it easy for the Russian. She has to go out there and play as if her life depends on it. If she somehow finds herself ahead of the World No.1, she has to hold her nerve when Serena turns up the pressure (which she will).

Prediction: Serena in two.

Angelique Kerber [4] v Venus Williams [8]
H2H: 3-2
Last meeting: Venus won 6-3 3-6 6-4 (Montreal 2014)
Grass court H2H: Kerber won their only meet 7-6(5) 7-6(5) at London 2012 Olympics
Angelique Kerber Wimbledon best: SF 2012, 2016
Venus Williams Wimbledon best: Winner 2000, 2001, 2005, 2007, 2008

What Kerber needs to do to win: Get her serve in. Kerber was broken six times in her match against Halep, but benefitted from the fact that the Romanian was also having a serving shocker. Venus Williams will not be so generous. If Kerber is to stand a chance against the five-time champion she needs to serve well and hold on tight under pressure. And, obviously, she needs to connect cleanly with those big thumping groundstrokes.

What Venus needs to do to win: Start fast. Venus is playing some great tennis at the moment, but she’s also playing a lot of tennis (she’s partnering sister Serena in doubles). If there’s any hangover from her doubles exertions, Kerber could run away with the momentum and the match. If she can go toe to toe with the German from the start, the pair play a similar game and so it could come down to a few crunch points.

Prediction: Kerber in two.