- Serena Williams Reaches Wimbledon Final To Battle Against Angie Kerber

- Serena Williams Reaches Wimbledon Final To Battle Against Angie Kerber

Serena Williams is into the Wimbledon final. Stop and let that breathe for a moment. Really soak in the improbability of what the 23-time Grand Slam champion has accomplished so far this tournament. Yes, Wimbledon is a Slam she has won seven times and one where she hasn't dropped a match since 2014. Sure, she was playing in her 11th Wimbledon semifinal and was 29-5 in Grand Slam semis before walking onto Centre Court to play world No. 13 Julia Goerges on Thursday. But there is no statistic fantastic enough to convey the implausibility of the outcome -- a 6-2, 6-4 win over Goerges that at once felt predetermined, yet unthinkable just a short time ago.

"This was not inevitable for me," Williams said after the match, which took 70 minutes to complete. "I had a difficult birth, multiple surgeries, I almost didn't make it. There was a time I could barely walk to my mailbox. It's such a pleasure and a joy [to be in the final] because less than a year ago, I was going through so much."

Just 10 months ago, Williams suffered life-threatening pulmonary embolisms after delivering her daughter, Olympia, via C-section. She remained on bed rest for several weeks afterward, unable to train until the end of the year. When she returned from maternity leave at Indian Wells in March, every baby step was celebrated. Outside expectations were couched. Win or lose, she was defying odds and outperforming even the most optimistic predictions for her first year back on tour. That changed last week... MORE