Australian Open: Williams closing in on Graf’s mark

MELBOURNE, Australia – It’s been two decades since Steffi Graf won her last Australian Open, but her presence looms large over Saturday’s final.

Serena Williams is one match away from tying Graf’s Open era record of 22 Grand Slam titles.

The only obstacle for No. 1-ranked Williams is Angelique Kerber, a 28-year-old German who is seeking Graf’s advice on how to win the biggest match of her life.

“Steffi, write me please,” Kerber said jokingly in an on-court interview after advancing to the first Grand Slam final of her career.

Graf did just that, in a text message, the No. 7-seeded Kerber said Friday.

“She told me, `Congrats,’ and she is happy for me, and good luck in the finals.”

Kerber has joked that it’s her national duty to protect the record of Graf, the last German to win the Australian Open in 1994.

The 34-year-old Williams was reminded at one news conference that when she played Graf in 1999, she referred to her as “Miss Graf,” out of respect.

Before Graf retired that year, she and Williams played twice. Graf won the first time, and Williams who was just 17 won the second.

But Williams is trying not to think too much about matching Graf’s 22 career titles.

“I definitely block it out. I was one off last year, too. If I don’t win on Saturday, I’ll still be one off,” Williams said.

Last year, Williams won the year’s first three Grand Slams – the Australian Open, French Open and Wimbledon – and headed into the U.S. Open trying to become the first player since Graf in 1988 to collect all four titles in one season.

She fell two matches short, losing in the U.S. open semifinals to Roberta Vinci, in one of the biggest upsets in the history of women’s tennis. She took an extended break after the loss, saying in Melbourne that she needed several months off to recover physically and mentally.

Men’s singles

Andy Murray defeated Milos Raonic 4-6, 7-5, 6-7 (4), 6-4, 6-2 in the semifinals to set up a championship match against five-time champion Novak Djokovic.

Murray is 0-4 in finals at Melbourne Park with Djokovic having won all five of his previous Australian Open finals.

Three of Djokovic’s wins in Australia have come in finals against his old friend Murray, every odd-numbered year since 2011.

Women’s doubles

Martina Hingis and Sania Mirza maintained their perfect record in Grand Slam doubles finals, beating the Czech pair of Andrea Hlavackova and Lucie Hradecka 7-6 (1), 6-3 at the Australian Open early Friday to extend their winning streak to 36 matches on the way to a third major title.

The winners added to their Wimbledon and U.S. Open titles last year and the pair also won at Brisbane and Sydney this month. They started playing together at Indian Wells in March of last year.