World number one Angelique Kerber got the birthday gift she wanted Wednesday by making the Australian Open third round, but she had to work hard against fellow German Carina Witthoeft.
The showdown will see world number one Serena Williams try to equal Steffi Graf's professional era record of 22 Grand Slam singles titles, while Angelique Kerber will seek to become the first German woman to lift the Wimbledon singles crown since her idol Graf 20 years ago.
German top-seed Angelique Kerber claimed her first title of 2013 with a 6-4, 7-6 (6) victory over Ana Ivanovic at the Linz Open in Austria on Sunday.
Germany's Angelique Kerber stunned home favourite Marion Bartoli 7-6, 5-7, 6-3 to win the Paris Open on Sunday and seal the first WTA tour title of her career.
World number one Angelique Kerber is out to find a love for clay in Paris on the French Open courts, with the out-of-form German traditionally struggling on this surface.
World No 1 Serena Williams showed her determination to defend her WTA Championships title by sweeping to a 6-3, 6-1 win over Angelique Kerber at the season-ending event on Tuesday.
German Kerber has not won a title since and will now drop out of the world's top 10.
Newly-crowned world number one Angelique Kerber has nothing left to prove after clinching the U.S. Open for a second grand slam this year and securing a place in the record books, the German said on Tuesday. The 28-year-old became the oldest player to rise to that rank when the new list was published on Monday, capping a memorable summer that also included the Olympic silver medal at the Rio de Janeiro Olympics and a Wimbledon final appearance.
Angelique Kerber displayed her grit and vaunted fitness as she battled back to beat France's Pauline Parmentier 7-5, 3-6, 7-5 in scorching heat on Monday to reach the fourth round of the BNP Paribas Open.
Czech Petra Kvitova overcame a second set meltdown to dispatch Angelique Kerber 6-2, 0-6, 6-3 in the final of the Pan Pacific Open in Tokyo on Saturday to claim her 11th WTA tour title.
Germany's Angelique Kerber said she felt confident about facing Serena Williams in Saturday's Wimbledon final after beating the world number one in Australia earlier this year, and warned: I'm even more dangerous on grass. The fourth seed gatecrashed the Williams sisters' Wimbledon party when she overpowered Venus 6-4 6-4 in the semi-finals on Thursday, setting up the clash with Serena.
Olympic champion Serena Williams suffered her first loss in nearly three months on Friday as she was knocked out of the Cincinnati Open quarter-finals, falling 6-4, 6-4 to Germany's Angelique Kerber.
Angelique Kerber is looking forward to a potential German sporting double over the next fortnight, aiming to win Wimbledon as one of the favourites while also cheering on her national football team at Euro 2016. Australian Open champion Kerber revealed on Saturday that she had been hooked on watching the Euros, particularly the progress of Die Mannschaft, during her preparations in London.
World number one Angelique Kerber crashed out of the Hong Kong Open in the quarter-finals on Thursday, the German slumping to a shock 6-3, 6-1 defeat to Australia's Daria Gavrilova at Victoria Park.
Images from the matches played on Day 10 at the Australian Open at Melbourne Park on Wednesday
Runner-up Pliskova will move into the top-10 of the world rankings for the first time in her career
'Right now I think that I have to find to myself again and just trying to forget the clay court season as soon as possible'
In a bizarre coincidence, top seed Victoria Azarenka and seventh-seeded Australian Samantha Stosur withdrew from their quarter-final matches at the BNP Paribas Open on Thursday due to leg injuries.
Victoria Azarenka, 31, won a bronze medal for Belarus in singles and a gold in mixed doubles at the 2012 Summer Games in London. Angelique Kerber, 33, won the silver in singles for Germany at the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.
Angelique Kerber leapt into murky surroundings on Sunday, just hours after she became the first German since 1999 to win a grand slam tennis title by defeating world number one Serena Williams at the Australian Open. The 28-year-old's plunge into the Yarra River on Sunday, as a result of a bet with Eurosport journalist Matthias Stach, was an apt metaphor for what her life now holds. On Monday she is expected to rise to a career-high number two on the WTA Tour rankings. She can also expect a warm reception from her home country after she became the first German since her childhood idol Steffi Graf to clinch a grand slam, prompting congratulations from sportspeople and the country's President Angela Merkel. Kerber's victory also painted a large target on her back by proving that Williams was not invincible, though she was quick to acknowledge the American's powers were not on the wane.
Angelique Kerber showed more passion in the media centre than on the court when she crashed out of last year's WTA Finals, the German angered by the format and frustrated by her inability to win the set off an eliminated opponent she needed to advance.
Top seed Serena Williams won the final eight games to rout Andrea Petkovic in the semi-final at the Stanford Classic in California on Saturday.
Angelique Kerber feels vindicated that she now belongs at the upper echelons of the women's game after four years of consistency helped her into her first Grand Slam final at the Australian Open on Thursday.
The latest tennis rankings have been announced by the ATP and WTA
Andy Murray will begin the defence of his Wimbledon title against a qualifier after the draw was made at the All England Club on Friday.
Germany's Angelique Kerber breezed past American Madison Keys in straight sets to enter the Australian Open semi-finals in Melbourne on Wednesday. The 2016 champion easily won 6-1, 6-2 in just 51 minutes.
China's Li Na showed plenty of character as she fought back to beat German Angelique Kerber 1-6, 6-3, 6-1 and win the Cincinnati Open title on Sunday.
Venus Williams beat top seed Angelique Kerber on Wednesday to advance to a Miami Open semi-final against Britain's Johanna Konta.
The 17th seed has been in no-nonsense mood so far in Melbourne, moving through the rounds with the minimum of fanfare, but faces her biggest test against the German.
A calm Sloane Stephens picked her shots to perfection to overcome Japan's Naomi Osaka in a battle between the last two US Open champions at the WTA Finals on Monday before top seed Angelique Kerber was upset by Kiki Bertens.
Dominika Cibulkova kept her hopes of reaching the last four of the WTA Finals alive with a gritty 6-3, 7-6(5) Red Group victory over Simona Halep at the Singapore Indoor Stadium on Thursday.
Angelique Kerber continued her relentless march towards a maiden WTA Finals crown with a comprehensive 6-2, 6-1 victory over defending champion Agnieszka Radwanska on Saturday to set up a title showdown against Dominika Cibulkova.
Images from the Olympics tennis action at the Roland Garros, Paris, on Wednesday.
Serena Williams stayed on track for an eighth Wimbledon title as she fought back to beat Italian Camila Giorgi 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 in a fiercely contested quarter-final.
Jelena Jankovic made it a Serbian win double in Asia on Sunday as she fought back from a set down to beat Germany's Angelique Kerber to take the Hong Kong Open title.
Defending champion Novak Djokovic will bid for a record-extending 11th title at Melbourne Park and 25th Grand Slam crown overall.
'I took the wildcard for Eastbourne and it's great to be feeling the grass again, and I'm happy the clay court season is already finished.'
Andy Murray embarks on his first Grand Slam campaign as world number one with much stronger title credentials, even if he has lost five finals at Melbourne Park.
Angelique Kerber was forced to dig deep in her WTA Finals opener before the German world number one battled past Dominika Cibulkova 7-6(5), 2-6, 6-3 in a high-class baseline slugfest at the Singapore Indoor Stadium on Sunday.
Angelique Kerber, who recently won the Australian Open, has revealed that she has lost track of her maiden Grand Slam title and that she is eagerly waiting to get hold of the coveted trophy at her hometown in Germany.
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