Agnieszka Radwanska reaches Wimbledon final
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Steady backhands and forehands were all it took for Agnieszka Radwanska to reach her first Wimbledon final.
The third-seeded Pole won five straight games to take the first set, and held on after taking an early lead in the second to beat Angelique Kerber 6-3, 6-4 Thursday in the Wimbledon semifinals.
"This is a dream from when I was kid," the 23-year-old Radwanska said. "I'm playing tennis almost 18 years, and of course everybody's dream is to play the final of a Grand Slam."
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Radwanska will face either four-time Wimbledon champion Serena Williams or second-seeded Victoria Azarenka in Saturday's final. They were playing the second semifinal on Centre Court.
In the men's semifinals, defending champion Novak Djokovic will face six-time winner Roger Federer on Friday, while Andy Murray will take on Jo-Wilfried Tsonga.
Radwanska is the first Polish woman to reach a major final since 1939, when Jadwiga Jedrzejowska lost in the French Championships.
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Playing on Centre Court, both Radwanska and Kerber started well but soon started to show their nerves.
Each held at love in their opening service games, but Kerber broke for a 2-1 lead when Radwanska's backhand drop shot went wide.
It was one of only six unforced errors for Radwanska.
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"We both were a bit nervous in the beginning," Radwanska said. "Of course this is the semifinals, so you really want to try your best, but sometimes too much, and your hands a little bit shaking.
"After a couple of games, I just relaxed a little bit. I was really focusing on every point."
Following that stumble, Radwanska's consistency came through. She held to 3-2 and then won the next four games to take the set.
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In the second set, Radwanska converted her third of three break points in the match to take a 3-2 lead and held the rest of the way.
Kerber finished with 26 winners, six more than Radwanska, but had 14 unforced errors.